Transition
by fascalia
Summary: Sakura is perceived from the perspectives of others as she changes during the years into something else entirely. The people near her follows her transition closely and when she starts abandoning everything she held dear - she gets closer and closer to her goal.
1. White Eyes

**Transition**

Summary - Sakura is perceived from the perspectives of others as she changes during the years into something else entirely. The people near her follows her transition closely and when she starts abandoning everything she held dear - she gets closer and closer to her goal.

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><p>Prologue<p>

_It was that day when I went to Ino to ask being admitted temporarily to her team, years ago. Earlier that morning I had stood by the waters of the mountain statues of Hashirama and Madara. I saw my own reflection for what it was in the stillness: a useless pink haired girl with a petty dream of becoming a medic to heal scratches. A weak, thin girl with no higher ambitions in life. It was then that I knew I wasn't enough. I was never enough. In that moment of reflection, I decided._

_To give my everything to a few goals I had overlooked because of my weaknesses and logical reasonings. I had a notebook with me since at the time I was researching medical herbs that grew by the Hashirama mountain's feet. I got out a paper and wrote a list, a check-list of a kind. I still have it on me, close to my heart. It was a check-list of impossible goals and to-be achievements. And to the core of my bones, to my dying breath, I would accomplish these goals, I would make myself useful, I swore. They engraved into my mind. _

_I later wrote down supplementary goals to achieve when I learned of things I hadn't before. It was a simple list of few words, but they had seemed so very unreachable and laughable at the time. Still, some are. But I gritted my teeth back then and swore on my whole being I would accomplish these goals. And in order to do that, I had to change my reflection. I wiped my hand across the surface. The splash had made ripples flow in the water, estranging and distorting the image of my watery reflection. _

_There is no change without movement._

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

Through the Eyes of a Flower Girl, a Prodigy and a Cloud Watching Boy

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><p><em>The Flower Girl Yamanaka Ino<em>

Ino had come into a daily routine of training with her team, scolding Choji and Shika, taking up small missions and helping out at her mother's flower shop. When she heard of Sakura getting accepted as an apprentice of the Hokage, jealousy clouded her mind for a few months leading to her not talking to the Haruno at all. She would never be weaker than her former rival so she occupied herself with training and didn't even glance at the pink haired girl when they met on the street. She distantly noticed that the pinkette didn't take good care of her untrimmed hair any longer, and those clothes she wore didn't fit her at all. She had abandoned her usual red Qipao dress and now donned a red top together with a beige skirt. But the nagging conscious of the Yamanaka made her look more closely at the Haruno when she met her the next time in the grocery shop.

Ino saw it where none else saw. The pinkette picked up an orange from the fruits section in the grocery shop and that was it. Forehead was lonely; Ino could recognise loneliness on Sakura's face two miles away. She occupied herself with the training at Tsunade's office, helping to file stacks of papers, then helping out at the hospital as a nurse apprentice and then training by herself. She strained herself to the limits to not feel the emptiness consuming her. With a wrinkle of her nose, Ino saw that the usually manicured and green painted nails of the Haruno girl was now non-existent and had been cut far too low. Ino bit down her sizzling jealousy and tried to talk with the lonely girl at times, but the Yamanaka herself didn't have much time on her hands to befriend the pink haired girl because she had training and missions of her own.

The forehead was one cloudy day waiting for her in front of the Yamanaka flower shop.

"What's up, forehead?" She greeted in her usual manner, casting her blond hair to one side. She was trying to grow it out again.

"Good evening Ino. I have a... bold request, but I don't know how to ask this of you." The pink haired girl shyly looked down on the ground. Ino sniffed with a frown; this wasn't like the boisterous loud girl she knew. The loneliness had shaved off of her personality, it seemed.

"Just spit it out, I need to help mom with the shop soon." She sneered but she waited patiently for her former rival to gather up the courage. She hid a smile. It was the first time in a long while that the pinkette had approached her and not the other way around.

"Could I... Possibly join your team for your next mission?" She blurted and blushed. Ino raised one eye brow and couldn't help herself not to laugh at the pink haired girl's expression. Ino remembered that the Haruno had no team mates anymore and she felt almost guilty for not having considered this fact before. She decided then.

"I don't have a problem with it. I'll just ask Asuma-sensei the next time I see him and then we can file a request to the Hokage." Ino complied and smiled crookedly. She had thought that the girl was looking for date advice or fashion advice, but she hadn't expected this. She saw how her former rival broke into a heart-wrenching grin and her eyes glittered. It was then that Ino realised just how lonely she had been. And not for the first time, Ino cursed that idiot Naruto and that backstabbing Sasuke for leaving the girl like this.

The Sakura-joining-Team-Asuma-Temporarily request was accepted with a bit of help from Tsunade, since she was Sakura's teacher after all, and Sakura joined their team for a few training sessions to better understand the team dynamics. Shika wasn't that interested, as always, and Choji was happy when she gave him a bit of her food. The cohesiveness of the team was good and Sakura adapted quickly, so Asuma-sensei requested a mission from the Hokage. Then their first mission together was scheduled which was a C-rank mission. Sakura's position in the team was as a medic and she seemed as glad as ever.

Their first mission together had gone exceptionally well. It had been an escort mission, and the client had happily paid a bit more than necessary. Ino had noticed the look in the client's eyes as he had watched the forehead. Sakura didn't seem to notice.

Several other missions later they succeeded in upgrading from C-rank to their first B-rank mission. Sakura's medic abilities had improved fast and sometimes, the forehead taught Ino medical jutsus she just learned. The bookworm proved to be of some usefulness after all. Ino didn't like to admit it, but she was comfortable with the big forehead in their team. The Haruno hadn't imposed on hers, Choji's and Shika's close friendship and the medic had been really nice to her for a change. Ino saw sometimes how she suppressed her Inner from mouthing her thoughts loudly. Ino was proud of her, what she now only called when none heard, her friend.

On the day of their first B-rank mission, Ino was excited. Their mission was to deliver a scroll to a hidden village bordering to Fire Country, so it would take at least a week. With tree-hopping they made it to their destination without trouble, but on the way back they had absentmindedly slipped into a dangerous area of the forest. Shika had been the first to notice when he looked at the map and yelled that they had to trail back.

"This is missing-nin territory. They usually set dangerous traps and there are alarm wires everywhere; since this might be a hide-out. We need to get out of here, _now_."

They turned abruptly around, only to a hear a shriek come from their sturdy friend. Choji had fallen to the ground in a broken heap and a large shuriken was stuck to his chest, blood splurging out of the large wound. He had activated a trap-wire when jumping past a branch and several large shurikens had been released. He had evaded all of them except for one. Ino's heart bled and she felt tears gathering in her eyes as she stood on a branch above her dying, spluttering friend. The forehead was just as shocked besides her and seemed to be paralysed for a moment, but then Shika yelled at her for help and she came to. She hopped down to join Shikamaru who spread out a medic field kit on the forest floor for her use.

Ino noticed a flare of chakra behind her and she saw three Konoha jounins come into her vision, fast tree-hopping. The Yamanaka screamed for them to come to their aid. The Konoha ninjas who had been on an A-class mission, turned around to find a blond fifteen-year old kunoichi standing on a tree branch, crying unashamedly over a fallen bloody teammate on the ground below.

Sakura tried to save Choji at the same time as she eased the shuriken out of his chest cavity with great effort, a gurgling sound was produced from Choji's throat and then she was fast to bandage his chest but blood was pumping through Sakura's hands as she tried to stop the blood flow. She was stressed, shocked and huffing when Choji wouldn't stop screaming in pain. Ino thought she could see a tear glisten on Sakura's cheek, but she couldn't be sure as she joined them on the ground. It could've been sweat. The team of three Konoha jounins arrived and their field medic pushed Sakura violently to the side so she toppled over. The field medic started healing with his hands over Choji's chest and instantly suppressed the blood flow and Choji's screams halted to a stop; he was unconscious. Ino saw a light fade in her former rival's green eyes.

They made their way home to Konoha with the three jounins in silence and Choji was admitted to the hospital. Ino didn't see her pink haired friend for a long time after that, and she heard from Asuma-sensei that the Haruno had requested to be dismissed from the team.

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><p><em>The Prodigy Hyuuga Neji<em>

In the murmurs of the Hyuuga Clan's main house he had overheard gossip about a mission gone awry the other week, where the to-be Sixteenth head of the Akimichi clan had almost died. According to the rumours of the Hyuuga maids, it had been a gory mess of blood and bones but he had survived. Neji thought nothing more of it and continued to the training grounds inside the Hyuuga compound. He was to meet Hiashi Hyuuga and receive special training.

One day he was called to the Hokage's office for his first B-class mission. He was somewhat excited and believed this would prove to be good experience as well as giving him a superior lead to the other Main house members of his clan. He was assigned to a temporary team with Nara Shikamaru and Haruno Sakura, since Lee was away on a short training mission with Gai-sensei and Tenten was in Sunagakure. Shikamaru's team recuperated still, because of Choji being in the hospital. The Nara was excellent in analytical planning, strategy and leading a group Neji knew, so he was satisfied with that.

When he stood next to the pink haired girl to receive further information about the mission, he noted that something had gone amiss in the kunoichi's eyes, but he didn't think more of it. This mission was his first B-class mission and the Nara's second. He didn't know about the Haruno, except that she was a medic under training of Tsunade, and distantly remembered that she had been on the same team as Akimichi Choji who was still at the hospital. It had been a B-class mission he recalled, so at least she had some experience of it, if not quite traumatic. The Hyuuga allowed himself to let out a small, small huff of exasperation; he hoped she would not hold the team back. From what he knew of the medic, she was weak and quick to emotional outbursts. And the fight she had had at the Chuunin exams with the Yamanaka girl had been laughable. He'd talk to the Nara about having her trailing the team, to not risk her getting injured or them whilst protecting her if under attack.

The next day, the day of the mission, was a sunny day with no clouds in the sky and a warm breeze from the south seeped into the atmosphere. In the morning they had started their travels to a nearby civilian village where their assigned client; a wealthy merchant that they were to guard on a travel to a village in Tea where he had some business, and then guard him all the way back. During the walk to their client's village the Nara wouldn't stop complaining about how troublesome everything was and the Haruno girl silently walked behind them; as if she unconsciously found her place in the back. A twig broke nearby, Neji knew it had been a scared rabbit hopping off into the forest by the approach of them, but it had snapped the medic's attention. Neji, with almost eyes in the back of his head, noticed a change in the girl as she stopped.

With big, green eyes she regarded in shock the backs of his and the Nara's as they walked in front of her. They were leaving her behind as she stood there, and Neji turned around to give her a questioning look; still walking ahead. A light in her eyes, the one he had seen that had been missing before, was lit. But this time the light was burning, almost feverishly. In a few swift steps she was walking besides him. The Nara hadn't noticed her change, he only grumpily strolled on, muttering curses under his breath. But Neji had seen her change. If that was not steely determination to not be left behind in her burning eyes, he didn't know what was.

When they arrived at the village they were met by the personal guards of the merchant at the grand iron gates. Tajima, the merchant, was a tall man who had aged well and moved with elegance in the street towards them. His features were handsome and his greying black hair didn't seem out of place. He clothed himself in a traditional black yukata, hemmed with white lines and had a katana in a black scabbard blatantly strapped at his hip. He greeted them and told them a few details about the mission of which they already knew.

Sakura was the first to go up and greet him with a bow of her head, present her team and then to further ask for information regarding his enemies in the trade and possible threats on the way to Tea. Neji blinked. Was she actually making herself useful? Or was it just for show? Neji's eyes wandered over to Tajima and he stated to himself that one had to be blind to miss Tajima's widening grey eyes as he took in the kunoichi's outrageous pink hair colour and her shining green eyes. Neji found that he did not particularly like the look in Tajima's eyes, nor the body language he now showed the kunoichi as he made her laugh lightly. With a look at the Nara, he had also noticed. A silent agreement between the two of them was then made; they would not leave Haruno alone with Tajima. They feared their client would break protocol regarding the fact that customers of Konoha's services were never to touch an assigned ninja inappropriately. It would most certainly not end well for the client.

When they were on their way Neji accompanied the Haruno girl and walked behind Tajima for a better rear view of the group and in case of attack, he would be able to detect it from any direction. Shikamaru was walking in the front of the group, yawning. Tajima had guards of his own and they surrounded them in groups, in their steps and movement the Hyuuga prodigy saw that they were experienced in battle and had had military training. Neji wondered why a man like Tajima needed shinobi when he seemed to have great personal military assets at hand. There were at least ten of his guards and according to Neji, Tajima did not need so many if he wasn't of great importance. And from what Neji knew of Tajima, all he was famous for was his flourishing empire of trade in Fire Country and Tea Country. He also could not see Tajima as someone flashy, only showing the number of guards to impress; no, he was not that shallow. There were always background checks done on C, B, A and S-rank missions in Konoha and they had not found anything out of the ordinary with the merchant nor the mission.

Neji was so deep in his train of thought that he didn't notice the missing nin until it was too late. He saw and counted in a flash that twenty one kunais had been thrown and hit six out of the ten guards surrounding Tajima. The six guards fell, crumpled to the ground, with blood the colour of red wine gushing out of vital arteries. In a whirl, he made use of the Gentle Fist style he knew to the core of his bones as the next attack hit. He successfully averted all of the kunais directed at him when he was reminded of his client. When he looked at the place Tajima had been, there was nothing. A flash of pink in the corner of his peripheral vision told him the kunoichi had survived; if she had not, she would not have been worthy of the title kunoichi. But what he had not expected was that she was holding an unharmed Tajima with one hand as she searched her pockets for a weapon, seemingly not finding any. The Hyuuga had thought that the Nara had saved their client, but he was a yard away already battling a black harness clothed shinobi from the looks of it, the Nara had already lured him into his shadow.

"There's more!" Sakura yelled at the Hyuuga when she evaded several kunais thrown at her, dragging a flustered Tajima behind her at the same time. The strength in her arms didn't match the physical look of it, so Neji used his eyes to see chakra gathering in the arm holding Tajima; it was perfect chakra control, he concluded, as he started to search for the other attackers. He found them within one second and flash stepped into their zone. He was swift, he knew, as he started with the one in the closest tree. He was too fast for the missing nin from Mizu no Kuni, and he saw the tenketsu at his attacker's heart pulse and hit him precisely there. One more heart stopped beating in the forest clearing. It was his first kill.

But he had no time to think or ponder more about it as he was attacked from behind, a sword coming down on him fast. He evaded the deadly weapon with a slight step to the right and then pummelled the other missing nin with not so gentle fists. He didn't aim at the man's heart. A scream broke through the battle he was so consumed in as a third, fourth, then fifth shinobi attacked him in the trees; coming out from bushes and leaves. He found the source at the main road and he looked down from the tree branch he stood on. The Haruno stood casually in front of Tajima and there were several shinobi bodies sprawled on the ground in front of her, soiling it with currents of blood trailing paths through the dirt. The Haruno girl held a bloodied katana in her hand and their client's exquisite katana was absent from its scabbard at his hip. The scream had not been the girl's. The Hyuuga quickly finished the last attacker with another round of the Gentle Fist, sweat seeping into his eyes, he breathed heavily in the tree tops and then sprinted to the ground to stand beside Sakura.

When he jumped to stand beside her, he had to duck fast to avoid the katana in her hand severing his head. In shock, he looked at the medic, backing away. Her eyes were blank and expressionless and there was blood splatter on her face, trickling down her throat. Tajima trembled in a slumped heap on the ground behind her. Neji saw her eyes flash... white?

"Wait! Haruno. It's me!" He called when she was about to raise the katana against him again and her eyes changed in colour, into those piercingly green eyes. She had heard him. The white colour seemed to get sucked into her black pupil, leaving them verdant.

"Oh." Was all she whispered to him. No apology as he had expected, no tears of realisation. Her now green eyes went back to the katana in her hand which gleamed with slick blood.

Tajima whimpered. The Hyuuga quickly assessed the situation; Haruno had taken the lives of five missing nin, as he saw on the ground. That alone surprised him but he had no time to think of it. Shikamaru had succeeded in knocking out three Mizu no Kuni ninjas and he was sweating, flustered, not used to physical strains it seemed. He himself had taken out four and killed one. The Hyuuga widened the proximity of his pupil-less eyes and saw no chakras in the near vicinity. They were safe for now. But this was an attack like no other he had experienced in his life and would have been classified as an A, if not S-rank mission; the merchant would pay for this. A group of twelve missing-nin from Mizu no Kuni attacking their travelling group had to be of importance. _Damn those background checks..._

"Shikamaru. Damage report." The Hyuuga asked, catching the attention of the huffing Nara who turned around.

"A growing headache perhaps, but what-" Shikamaru's stance slightly flinched as he took in the damage, the blood and the lifeless bodies on the ground. He quickly looked at Neji and Sakura and assessed with his analytical mind that Neji was not the one who had done it. In a few seconds the Nara stood in front of their medic as he looked at her with a frown.

"Sakura, are you injured?" He asked as he saw the blood splatter on her face, her clothes and the unknown katana in her grip.  
>"No, this is not... my blood." She answered with a hint of nothingness in her voice, her eyes travelling back to the katana in her hand, her eyes turning paler as she did. It was then that Neji noticed it, saw it for what it was; the katana. How had he not seen it before? There was some kind of chakra alive in it - and that shouldn't be possible. He had never seen chakra live on its own in an inanimate object before. It was a black, swirling chakra that looked like the thick smoke from a large fire.<p>

"Sakura, let the katana go." Neji ordered her blankly as he took in the smoke-like chakra and saw how it ominously reached for Sakura's body, swirling. Only he could see it and he wished in that moment that he had never been born a Hyuuga.

"I-I can't..." Her voice sounded like the rustle of leaves in the wind and it scared Neji. Never before had he felt that kind of fear gather in the pit of his stomach, like ice seeping into his veins. Sudden authority, strengthened by his fear, made his voice sound years older and more experienced than he actually was.

"_Let it go_."

With a clank, the sword fell to the dirty ground. As it fell, so did Sakura. Exhaustion seemed to overwhelm her and glistening tears gathered in her eyes as she sobbed. Neji felt the tension in his shoulders disappear and he reached for her. She was human again, a girl. A gentle hand squeezed her shoulder at the same time as he did, and he saw Shikamaru doing the same; both of the young men was not used to comforting others, especially kunoichi having had their first kill. A kill of five shinobi. The girl hulked, snivelled and then looked up at the two of them with teary eyes. At that time when she saw their pitying expressions, Neji noted that the burning in her eyes came back with full force. Even stronger in fire this time. She sniffed one last time and stopped crying, wiping the last tears away with the sleeve of her shirt. She stood up and they let go of their comforting hands on her shoulders.

A sound made from dragging steps on the road made Neji turn around in one quick movement and he saw Tajima scrambling to his feet. Without thinking, Neji activated his eyes, which he knew made him look even more dangerous, and was fast to take a hold of the merchant's black yukata and yanked him back. Tajima fell to the ground with a helpless grunt. Neji closed his eyes, then spoke without hesitation.

"Tell us everything you did not before or I will rip your lying tongue out."

Shikamaru was fast to imprison Tajima with his shadow and Sakura stood still to watch, with pale green eyes. The Hyuuga prodigy saw how she stole a quick look at the abandoned sword, but she didn't pick it up. That relieved him to some extent.

"No. I won't. I can't." Tajima squealed, all of his pride and prettiness gone. Neji felt his eye twitch with disgust. Shikamaru growled.

"Sure as hell you will. This was not what we signed up for and it's troublesome as shit. Having missing nin attacking us was not on the contract." Shikamaru scolded the man and his black eyes darted to the man slumped at his feet.

"It's classified." The man stuttered and looked defiantly away into the forest.

Neji wondered how he would best threaten the merchant without killing him in the process when in a movement, the abandoned sword was kicked towards Tajima's feet. It slid to a stop right in front of the merchant who blanched at the sight. Neji looked wide-eyed at his side and saw Sakura staring at the man. Pale, green eyes.

"Pick it up." Her voice was cold and it cut through the silence like a sword through flesh.

"N-no!" The man's eyes lit up with an emotion Neji just had lived through and never wanted to experience again. Fear.

"Pick it _up_." She repeated as she walked up to him and looked down on him, watching how he shivered and violently shook his head when the sword was blaring in front of him. Bare. It was then that Neji saw the scabbard at Tajima's hip; with a peek inside it with his Byakugan he saw that there were seals over seals over seals inside. Old yet high level chakra restraining seals.

"It's the sword." Sakura looked back at her two temporary team mates over her shoulder and smiled with her chapped bloody lips closed. It was a smile that left a bad taste in Neji's mouth and he wanted to see anything but that slanted smile, so he looked at the blood smeared katana on the ground instead. Shikamaru waved with his hand, having not seen her smirk.

"What about it? Is it valuable? It looks ancient and unusable." The Nara cocked his head sideways and raised one eyebrow. Tajima shivered again, trying to fight the shadow power Shikamaru had over him, to get further away from the bloody sword. He didn't budge.

"It's cursed." Neji blurted, taking in the full extent of the dark chakra covering the sword. Sakura discerned him with pale green eyes, then looked at the sword again. She knew, Neji realised. She knew already.

"Cursed, really? So you were going to sell it to the highest bidder, huh? What a scam." Shikamaru drawled and bent down to pick up the hilt of the sword to study it. Before Neji even had the time to blink, Sakura had her grip on Shikamaru's hand, preventing him from taking the katana.

"Believe me, you do not want to do that." That coldness in her voice was back with a hint of knowing. Yet it caressed the wind and was gentle in its frost.

"Ara, Sakura. Okay, okay." Shikamaru seemed confused, but backed away. "Wait. You don't actually believe it's cursed, do you?" He snorted. The Haruno girl only looked at him, not saying anything. The silence was broken by the clearing of a throat which turned out to belong to Tajima. His eyes nervously pried from the sword to the kunoichi and back. Three pairs of eyes had his full attention and he gulped.

"Now that you know, I might as well tell you. I thought the legend of the katana was just a bluff at first, but then she-" Tajima stopped, looked warily at Haruno. Then he gulped and continued, eyes on the blood soiled ground. "I was going to sell it off in Tea to a powerful Daimyo from Stone for a lesser fortune, but it seems word got around; I guess one military asset betrayed me with our route to Tea. And I know that the Mist has always taken a liking to powerful swords, and then these missing nin from Mizu no Kuni... I never expected this though. It's an abomination." He trailed off, leaving the three Konohagakure shinobi staring at him. How could the administration in Konoha have missed this vital part of information?

Suddenly, Neji's survival instincts screamed for him to turn around. As he did, something hit him in the back of his head. Hard. A brooding darkness seeped into his mind, the world turned blurry and he fell as he heard a scream. Then the Hyuuga prodigy lost consciousness before he even hit the hard soiled ground.

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><p><em>The Cloud Watching Boy Nara Shikamaru<em>

Dread filled his lungs as he saw Neji fall unconscious to the ground from the quick hit with the back of a ridiculously huge sword. He hadn't even noticed the chakra presence, which was now _overwhelming_. Towering before himself, Sakura and Tajima stood a grey skinned man lackadaisically, with a black coat covering him from head to toe and he was the most fearsome creature Shikamaru had every happened upon. Tajima was screaming again and when he abruptly stopped screaming, Shikamaru guessed he had passed out. The Monster of the Hidden Mist - Hoshigaki Kisame - was there to take the sword and claim it. Shikamaru came to this conclusion within seconds. This was the monster he had only heard children's horror stories of. The infamous monster who swung the legendary sword Samehada like it was a stick was a very real monster and his sharp teeth glinted in the late afternoon sunlight right in front of him. The swell of his chest muscles was visible underneath the cloak, muscles rippling like a predator ready to attack. Shikamaru felt like someone had caught him in his own shadow, but he was just simply paralysed with fear. He couldn't move an inch. His heart clenched in dread.

In his mind, he knew exactly what he should do, was _supposed_ to do in this situation. Kick the sword to the monster and apologise for existing, hopefully keep the monster busy with it, take the unconscious Hyuuga and Haruno and run for the life of it to the nearest village - and when there he was to report to the Godaime about the dangerous presence of the missing-nin Hoshigaki Kisame near the border to Fire Country. He didn't care about that troublesome guy Tajima anymore than he had before, but now he had even more reason to not care. He was the one who had gotten them into this troublesome crap of a mess in the first place. Somewhere in that bundle of panic welling up in his chest and all of that thinking, Sakura disappeared.

The very tall and huge shark-like man in front of him seemed to not have taken an interest in the Nara boy, whereas the monster moved his small white and round eyes to a point behind Shikamaru and stayed there. Shikamaru was still paralysed by fear, so when the monster moved to walk past him he couldn't roll out of the way. Irritably, the monster swung the sword towards Shikamaru, as if swatting away an irritating fly, and he just knew; _this is the moment I die_. But when he closed his eyes to take the hit with a tear in his eye, he didn't feel anything. There was a whoosh of air, but nothing more nor less. Something wet splattered on his cheek.

When he opened his eyes he saw that Sakura stood before him, like a shield, facing the monster towering over her petite form. Blood was dripping down onto the forest floor from her ravaged shoulder, creating a small pool at her feet. She was holding the cursed katana defensively, pressing back the bandaged blade of Samehada and apparently she was still breathing because of the cursed katana. A breeze lightly made her pink hair ruffled. Shikamaru could see tendons stick out of her shoulder in a gory mess of muscles and blood, where Samehada had forced the katana into her own shoulder. In a swift movement, Samehada retracted, the monster casually heaving the legendary sword to rest on his own shoulder.

A deep chuckle was heard, coming from the depths of the throat of the shark monster. His gill marked face slowly cocked slightly to his side, observing the pink haired girl in front of him. The sun reflected in his white eyes.

"Feisty, aren't you?" The monster of a man let out a staggering amount of killing intent as he rumbled these words with a sadistic smirk, and Shikamaru fell to his knees because of the pressure. The killing intent flooded his mind, oppressing him into submission, he hulked with tears in his eyes and threw up on the ground before he even could comprehend what had happened. When he looked up through blurry eyes he saw that Sakura was still standing, but her legs gave her away as they shivered slightly with the pressure. But she was still standing. With the katana pointing towards the monster.

Shikamaru never wanted to get up from the ground as the killing intent continued to press on him and images of him dying in a thousand ways came up in his mind, and he felt the pain and he felt sick and he was dying again and there was blood everywhere he looked, and he needed to throw up again. As he did, he saw a faded presence of a person with a black cloak standing behind the monster. All he saw was a flash of red and then he hulked yet again.

"Don't hurt them." That cold voice rang through the air yet again and Shikamaru couldn't understand how she held that steely facade against that _monster_. How she wasn't on the ground, crying. How she wasn't screaming. How she wasn't begging.

"I am here solely to claim that sword you're holding, girl. But I've changed my mind. You seem like you might turn out to be a fun challenge in the future, so I'll leave her to you. I will claim her later though, so take good care of her." The tall man grinned a stomach-wrenching grin, with those sharp triangular and pointy teeth sticking out, and then he turned around so his black coat flapped in the wind. There was red clouds sewn at the hem of the cloak, Shikamaru noted absentmindedly. Within moments, the Seventh Swordsman of the Mist was gone. As was the figure behind him.

Shikamaru felt the killing intent release him and he savoured every second of being free from the pressure. Sakura trembled, but didn't fall. They had survived due to the whim of the monster's entertainment. _Claim it later?_ But they were still breathing. The Haruno stood in the exact same defensive position, even when the threat was gone. Shikamaru breathed deeply, turned to spit the vomit taste away and wiped his mouth. He staggered when he got up from the ground and walked up to Sakura. When he got to her, he blanched. Her eyes weren't pale green anymore; they were almost a startling white. Her complexion was frigid and her white eyes stared into thin air, her clothes had dried with the blood and her face was pale and contrasting the blood splatter.

Her right shoulder was ravaged, there was muscles and tendons sticking out and blood flowed freely; but it seemed not to bother her. Like she couldn't feel pain. Shikamaru now didn't deny the fact that the katana was cursed as he looked at it; it actually _hummed_ with suppressed power. With his normal eyes which weren't of the Hyuuga's kekkei genkai; even he could see that there was something off with the sword, that there was a movement within it which could be likened to...chakra. And that _monster_ had come to claim it.

"Please, Sakura, drop the sword. Please."

It was a sincere sentence and Shikamaru noticed that he was begging, but to hell with pride. Those creepy white eyes travelled to his own and it took all his will not to swallow.

"No. Izanami-sama won't allow me to to let her go. We're bound. We have a contract." Like a freezing wind, her words reached his ears. White eyes.

"What? Who?" Shikamaru asked when the kunoichi seemingly without thinking stroked the bloody sword with her index finger, making it bleed shallowly. Sakura didn't twitch. The drops of her blood travelled down the sword and then fell to the ground. There was a stronger hum from the katana when the blood of the kunoichi slid down on the blank surface, as if it accepted the red liquid. As if it sealed a contract. Shikamaru shuddered and started to say something, but he was cut off by the girl who now looked at him. Really looked at him now, as if she saw him through the whiteness of her eyes.

"She... The katana, I-" She breathed and yelped, as Shikamaru saw Sakura's eyes turn verdant as the whiteness was sucked in by her pupil and her eyes were burning - she was back. She let go of the katana as if it was on fire and it fell, but in a second she had her foot underneath the flat side of the blade; balancing it, and then she gently put it down on the ground. Gently.

"Sakura?" He asked in exasperation; he had lived through more than he had ever expected this day. All he wanted to do was to sit on the veranda and play shogi with his father, sip his recently brewed hot tea and watch the clouds drift through the sky. He knew he needed to ask her what exactly had happened when she had taken a hold of the bloody and chakra-induced sword, how it changed her. How she knew it was cursed. What she meant by a contract. And who exactly Izanami was, but he had his suspicions that it was the name of the sword. But he decided to take that burden later when they were going to write the mission report, a headache started to spread in his forehead and he pinched the bridge of his nose.

The Haruno girl looked with disgust blended with admiration at the sword on the ground and then she seemed to realise that her shoulder was in shreds and bleeding down her body, drenching her already red top to a more vermillion colour. Shikamaru expected her to cry again and fall; that shoulder wound seemed to hurt like hell and if not taken care of it would be life threatening. The kunoichi wrinkled her nose and brought her healthy arm up against her shoulder. Startling green chakra swirled around the wound from her outstretched hand, closing the ragged and inflamed skin within seconds, muscle and fat and skin coming together. No tears, no crumpled heap. She surprised him again. She had found some kind of resolve, it seemed, to improve and get stronger. She clung tightly onto that resolve.

Shikamaru only stared at her in disbelief. Sakura noticed his questioning look as she continued to heal her shoulder with a slight grimace visible in her features.

"I'm just healing it shallowly now, I'll need to break the bone again later and reattach a few tendons when we're back in Konoha. I haven't slept much for a long time. I've been training on dying fish every day since last week and then when I was ready; I trained medical procedures on myself. I couldn't save Choji... So I decided to be able to next time." She smiled tiredly. Now, only now could he see it; the sleep deprivation visible in her petite features. The dark circles under her green eyes, the glassy gleam in them. Shikamaru decided then that this girl was one of the most troublesome girls he had ever met, topping Ino's number one position. Even so, he found himself not being able to look away from her. She had trained on herself? Had she broken her own bones to then heal them again? He couldn't fathom the pain and concentration needed for that task.

"I see." He confirmed and shrugged his shoulders. "Sakura, do you know how to play shogi?" He asked, steering the conversation away from swords and monsters, as he went a bit unsteadily to the Hyuuga to pick him up. The prodigy was still unconscious. When Shikamaru slung Neji over his shoulder with a grunt, he felt silky black hair run like a water fall down his back.

"Yes, I do. Not very well though. How so?" The kunoichi asked as she finished up healing her shoulder and then she limped to Tajima, hunched down and poked at his cheek expectantly. No reaction - he was out cold. Her eyes fastened on the scabbard at his hip.

"Up for a game sometime?" Shikamaru offered as he straightened. A game of shogi would make an excuse for him to ask her further questions about the bloody katana. The girl stood up and turned around in a flash to look at him with big eyes. Then she smiled, truly. One of her hands held the merchant's black scabbard protectively at her side.

"I'd like that."

Shikamaru couldn't for the life of him muster up the will to tell her not to take sword with her, but all the same he knew it was a valuable piece of weaponry and needed to be studied in the laboratories of Konoha. In the back of his mind, however, he knew she wouldn't give it away that easily. He decided then to keep quiet about it as she slid the sword into its scabbard. The powerful humming evaporating from the katana stopped.

They left Tajima on the ground, circled by the bodies of his hired mercenaries and the missing nin from Mist. Shikamaru really could care less for the merchant as he saw scavenger crows flap in the nearby trees. They dragged themselves with an unconscious Hyuuga to the nearest village a mile away and filed a report to the Godaime in silence. There was no need for words between the two.

The Hyuuga awoke when Sakura healed the fatal wound inflicted on his head in the village as they recuperated, the wound caused by the flat side of Samehada. He had gotten a skull fracture and it was simply plain luck, according to the pink haired medic, that she had recently learned how to retract fractures to the skull and how to heal them accordingly. If she hadn't healed the fracture, however shallowly, the Hyuuga might never have woken up. They told him of what had happened and that the Monster of Hidden Mist had been the one to inflict the Hyuuga's injury. Shikamaru saw how the prideful Hyuuga twitched at this, since it meant he owed his life to a pink haired girl. But Shikamaru didn't think any less of Sakura after this mission; he regarded her with respect and dread combined. She had changed, that was for sure.

When they reached Konohagakure, the Hokage herself had met them at the gates with a medical team at stand by. The medical team immediately took the Hyuuga to the hospital since he had overstrained his eye ability as well as healing the last parts of his skull fracture, but Sakura and Shikamaru was left at the gates since they only had scratches and were exhausted, one of the medics stated with a quick look. When the Godaime saw the Haruno girl walking towards her, seemingly unharmed, she had sighed in relief.

Shikamaru had pushed Sakura up to the Godaime, explaining the wound on her shoulder that she had shallowly healed so only the outer skin looked fine. The Hokage's apprentice almost blushed, seemingly ashamed of her medical abilities. But the Godaime only patted the girl on the head, saying well done, as she then healed the ravaged shoulder on the inside within minutes, leaving the Haruno girl in an amazed daze when she looked on. Tsunade then went back to her office to tackle more stacks of paperwork.

Ino was there as well, gripping her white coat so hard her knuckles turned pale. She had started taking her training at the hospital more seriously after Choji's near death experience and she had since been promoted in the hospital. The white coat she wore flared in the wind as she sprinted to jump-hug both Shikamaru and Sakura. She didn't cry, since she often told him it would ruin her make-up if she did, but she beamed and hugged them tightly in a bear hug.

"Troublesome." He muttered in her blond hair, but he was ignored. Sakura muffled a hello.

"You two!" Ino pinched both Sakura's and Shikamaru's cheeks in a motherly scolding gesture. Shikamaru winced and Sakura looked shocked. "Be more careful next time, will you?" She grinned and regarded the two with her concerned cerulean blue eyes.

"Yes, sir." They chorused at the same time, and Shikamaru saw a smile flash in the Haruno's face. She was dirty, blood smeared and had a cursed katana hidden in her backpack, but Shikamaru hadn't seen her like that since a year ago. She actually smiled genuinely.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

Hello peeps!

How do you like this story concept? I did a different take on Sakura by fully having all of the attention directly on her, but from other people's perspectives. I hope I don't wander too far from the characters own feel of a person, except for Sakura's of which is to change (^title). If you note errors, please PM me. And I am still looking for a Beat Reader to whip my typing fingers.

If you have any suggestions on the next chapter of people whose perspective I will write from, please tell me.

Also, something you may have noticed, I will regularly update. I find grammar mistakes or spelling mistakes or plot holes sometimes and so I fix. Sorry if updating is disturbing :/

Please RR and I will love you for eternity. Criticism is always welcome, no matter how harsh.

xx fascalia


	2. Weights

**Transition**

Sakura is perceived from the perspectives of others as she changes during the years into something else entirely. The people near her follows her transition closely and when she starts abandoning everything she held dear - she gets closer and closer to her goal.  
>Non-Canon, Sakura-centric

Chapter 2

Through the Eyes of The Shy Beauty, the Lovestruck Spandex Boy and the Female Weapon with Chinese Buns

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><p><em>The Shy Beauty Hyuuga Hinata<em>

Blushing, and hating herself for it, she stalked behind the Hyuuga prodigy through a long corridor in her family's mansion. They were going to train together on orders from her revered father, and it was for the first time in a long, long while. And she was nervous. They had gotten on better terms with each other since that horrible fight in the Chuunin exams so long ago. Hinata's heart had healed well. But that fight had filled her with dread for the Branch house family prodigy ever since. When he came too close, she shrunk. She flinched, backed away. And he saw that she was uncomfortable when he was too close to her, so he stayed at least two meters away from her, always. She appreciated his small effort, but she could never forget their conversation and her pitiful fight. And his commentary on her pitiful life and her future. And the damage done to her heart, damage physical as well as mental. The corridor seemed to never end.

Neji came to a sudden stop and it seemed like he had realised something, having been deep in his train of thought while they had walked through the mansion. Hinata heard a low gasp, only slightly audible coming from the Hyuuga and it baffled her.

"_She took it with her_. That-" He breathed in a deep murmur, wide-eyed, but then he seemed to come back and saw where he was. His steely facade settled on his refined features and it softened and hardened at the same time, something only Neji could do.

Hinata couldn't help herself but take an interest and wonder who he had meant and what the woman had taken with her. From what she knew, Neji was not interested at all in the opposite sex. Or any gender for that matter. Neji continued to wander through the seemingly endless corridor and Hinata scurried after him, not commenting on his little outburst. They exited the Hyuuga mansion and walked briskly away into town, Hinata always a few steps behind her cousin. When they neared the training grounds, which were situated near the Nara compound, a flash of pink made Hinata turn her head.

She saw Sakura leaving the Nara's traditional mansion in a light stroll, wearing her usual Haruno-crested red top and beige skirt, and Hinata found herself wondering when the Nara boy and Haruno Sakura had gotten on close terms. A victorious smile was hidden from view when pink hair whirled around her face. She was apparently pleased by something. In a second, Neji stood in front of the girl, blocking her way. Hinata was stunned, but she scurried to them, trailing her fellow clansman. Why did he bother to talk to the Haruno girl?

"You took _it_ with you, didn't you? Have you given it to the research team yet?" He growled. That emotionless, steely Neji had _growled_? Green eyes pierced Neji when the medic looked up at him, since he was after all taller than her now.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Neji-san." She cocked her head sideways, watching him. If Hinata hadn't had the eyes of a Hyuuga, she would have missed the lie. But she didn't. And she also noted how pale Sakura's eyes were. Had they always been so translucent?

"You shouldn't strain yourself. The fracture hasn't healed completely yet." The pink haired kunoichi quickly finished and whirled around to walk away. But Neji wouldn't let her.

"It's not something for you to decide, Haruno. That sword shouldn't be in the hands of someone inexperienced. Or rather, it shouldn't be in the hands of anyone. I can still see smoke trails of its black chakra on your skin." His white eyes strained and Hinata didn't know what to make of this. Sakura's finger twitched when the word 'inexperienced' left his mouth.

"It's none of your damn business." Flashing, pale green eyes snapped at him. Hinata was baffled, again. Sakura Haruno had just snapped at Hyuuga Neji? This day was getting stranger by the second. If Naruto showed up all bright and neon orange and confessed his eternal love for her moments later, she wouldn't be surprised. Although it was just a fantasy, she blushed despite herself.

"It was our mission, Haruno. It is my business." He said coldly, frowning.

"You don't understand. She chose me. I can't back out." Sakura whispered, that fierceness leaving her eyes with every syllable. Hinata didn't understand what was going on. At least she concluded that there was a sword and it was a bad sword, which Sakura had gained and didn't want to give away. Neji sputtered and scowled.

"What? You don't mean to say that the sword has a consci-"  
>"We'll talk about this later. I need to go." Sakura broke him off, looking over her shoulder. "Meet me tonight at the Chuunin Tower. I'll... show you."<br>Neji only creased his eyebrows, but didn't argue. He would be there, since he craved answers. Sakura didn't wait for a response.

The pinkette was about to hop up on a building when she noticed Hinata, who fidgeted and didn't know what to make of the situation.

"Goodbye, Hinata-san." She smiled, and then she was gone. Hinata never had the time to blush and nod in her usual type of greeting.

Hinata then decided something off the grids reckless. She wanted to know what they had talked about; so she would follow them. Not much was happening at the moment in Hinata's life and she missed Naruto terribly, that bundle of joy whom seemed to have the energy of the sun. She wanted to occupy herself with something and at the moment; that was finding out what the two had been so upset about. She followed a stern faced Neji to the training fields and indulged themselves in a spar. A few hours later, they finished. Hinata was almost in a pile of sweat and exhaustion. The prodigy hadn't even broken a sweat and left her on the training grounds as the lounging orange sun disappeared from the sky.

The night was lit by the stars and the full moon, so Hinata easily saw her way through the Forest of Death. She was quiet and rushed, jumped, landed silently in the tree tops, having regained her strength. She saw her destination as the Chuunin Tower appeared a few yards in front of her and noted that the pinkette and her cousin already was there.

They stood beside the entrance to the Tower, talking quietly. They both wore serious expressions. When Hinata came a little more close, she could read their lips with her Byakugan's help. She perched on a tree branch, the leaves on the tree hiding her from view. Luckily for her, they were turned her way so she could see through the canopy, and too far away to notice her. If anything, Hinata was complimented on being able to hide her chakra presence. If anything, she had always been good at being unnoticeable, she concluded. Hinata saw that Sakura held a katana wrapped in seals and had it pointed to the ground; Neji seemed to almost shrink away from it. Was that the sword they had been discussing?

"Oh. She scares you?" Sakura Haruno mouthed with a frown. Hinata saw directly that Sakura was not the same she had been a few hours ago, in her words, in her casual stance, in her eyes; this Sakura was too... sardonic.

"The sword does, yes. Of course it does! It's _cursed_ and the old blood on it has made it black and scarred - and it's humming! Aren't you scared of it?"

"No."

"But it's alive! And it has a mind of its own for god's sake. You're insane, Haruno." Neji waved with his hands helplessly and exaggerated the words when he called her 'insane'.

"She accepts me, that's why I'm not scared. She isn't too keen of you though. She says you're loud and nosy for a Hyuuga." The pinkette lowered her head.

"What? It speaks to you right now?"

"If I am in physical contact with her, yes, she can speak to me. But it's rather a whisper than anything... And she's not _it_, her name is Izanami-no-Tsurugi of Yomotsu Hirasaka."

"She... told you?" Neji blanched at this, his hands in hard fists at his sides.

"No. I just know it. I felt it." She looked at the katana in her hand, eyes paling as she did. Was that respect, admiration and deep terror blended in her green eyes? Hinata could only watch in fascination.

"This-this can't go on. You need to report to the Godaime about this whole ordeal. If you don't, then I will-"

In a flicker, Sakura had Izanami point at the Hyuuga, the katana humming with blood-lust and power. He hadn't even seen her draw it or unseal the high level seals. Hinata gasped and looked on, wide-eyed.

"I suggest that you don't approach the Godaime with the matter of Izanami-sama."

"Haruno, are you threatening me?" He spat. Hinata couldn't believe her opalescent eyes.

"Perhaps."

"That is very unwise." His white eyes cold, his mouth thinned into a stern line, her cousin's stance was rigid now - as if ready to spring at any moment.

"I am aware of the fact. But she wants me, and none else. If she falls into another shinobi's hands, she will destroy everything in her way. She will call for blood and broken bones." Sakura explained in a shiver almost, eyes tearing away from the katana and to Neji, but neither Hyuuga comprehended.

"I don't understand."

Sakura's eyes flashed white for a moment, then they were green again.

"She told me she wants to present herself. She deems you unfit, but she wants you to know about her and the risks. Take her."

Hinata froze as she perched on the tree branch, and activated her Byakugan almost unconsciously. What she saw made her pale and almost cough in surprise and dread. The katana in Haruno Sakura's outstretched grip was _alive_. With smouldering, charcoal like dark chakra. It was a chakra of carnage and times forgotten, it was scarred and haunting and it frightened Hinata more so than anything had ever frightened her before. She leapt off the branch and ran all the way back to the Hyuuga mansion. She'd never be reckless again. Haruno Sakura held in her hands a cursed and alive sword, swirling with a smoke like black chakra. Hinata fell to her bed, not wanting to think any more of it. Nuzzling her head into the soft pillow, she finally let her tears fall. She decided to forget what she had seen that night.

* * *

><p><em>The Prodigy Hyuuga Neji <em>

Neji hesitated. But then curiosity overcame his fear and he took the offered hilt in his hands. When he did, the object in his hand forced him down on the ground in a strained heap. The katana was not heavy. It was the feeling of invading coldness in his mind. And then the dark smoke-like chakra seeped into him, the world and the trees and the kunoichi blurred around him and then everything was a grey fog.

He couldn't see.

All light was gone and his senses numbed, he couldn't see or hear or feel or talk. It felt like he had died - if he felt nothing, then he was nothing. Then, a presence like the tingling of a spider, presented itself in front of him in a smoke-like explosion. At first, in his confused numbed state, he thought it was a beautiful divine goddess when she approached him, the white yukata flowing in layers behind her and she graciously moved towards him as if she hovered above the ground. The black and grey smoke seemingly evaporated from her whole being and it was a work of art, swirling around her, tailing her. But there was coldness as frosty as a winter morning in the divine creature's handsome face, her black and smooth hair spread like a silky waterfall all around her on the ground, and a glinting ruby, red as slick blood adorned her forehead and he realised it was a demon. A demon ruby adorned goddess. He saw carnage in her black eyes which reflected no light. He drowned in them, in seas of blood.

_A Hyuuga. If any, you should have been able to see me from the beginning. I have chosen Haruno Sakura as mine bearer for now. We have a contract by blood which binds us. If you shall hand me over to another weak human, I will endue destruction to your petty village._

He couldn't speak. Her voice, clear as freezing water, trickled into his consciousness, set on his mind, like ice it froze into him and carved every syllable into his brain. He felt cold sweat produce all over his body and his stomach churned. His mind was split and pain overwhelmed him.

_You _shall not_ disappoint me in this, child._

Hyuuga Neji closed his fist and swallowed when the darkness disappeared and his senses came back with full force. What met his gaze was the katana lying abandoned on the ground, he had let it go apparently, and green wet grass grazed his sprawled form. He looked up, breathing hard, only to find Sakura stand before him. Her eyes were knowing and pale. What had the Haruno gotten herself into?

"I'm sorry, Neji-san, that you had to go through with this. But maybe you understand this whole situation a little better now. And- I-" Her voice was clear but she stuttered the last part, as if a burden had been lifted from her chest. She only slipped a gaze at the abandoned katana and then she walked to him, he straightened up from the ground immediately and fell automatically into a defensive stance. It was so unconscious it surprised him; why had he fallen into an attack pattern when she neared?

The Haruno seemed not to care about his hostile awareness and stood now closely in front of him. When he regarded her, she didn't even look at the katana. Her full focus was on him. It was unusual for him now, that she actually focused on _him_ and not the katana, but he couldn't help but look at her. Her long, fluttering pink eye lashes, those ever-seeing green eyes, her creamy and healthy skin of her heart-shaped face, her lanky bare shoulders, her tight-fitting red top that hugged her small body intimately and revealed the beginning of curves, her long and slender legs and all the way to her now no longer manicured feet. He felt that he reacted to her now, with a tingling sensation in his body. And this time, it wasn't because he was afraid of her; or was he? Suddenly, the Haruno fell forward gently with her torso and neared his face. Neji didn't expect this. What was that woman _doing_? She was close now, her cerise and moist lips dangerously near his face, and then she cocked her head to the left only to reach his ear with her lips.

"I will best her." She whispered to him, she promised, green eyes suddenly piercingly and startling verdant again. Neji saw how her heart beat rapidly, saw how every thump forced her words to echo quietly. She smiled with those burning strong eyes that emanated determination, and walked away from him, slid the katana into the sealed scabbard as if she had done it everyday in her life and then jumped into the nearest tree, disappearing fast from his lost view.

When she left him, he had slumped onto the ground again in a moment of weakness. His fingers felt the wet grass, his grey pants soaking in the rain left on the ground. His muscles strained and his headache was out of this world, and what was that warmth tingling on his cheeks? He was perplexed, exhausted and scared.

Sakura needed to best Izanami, or the katana would turn the pinkette into a monster, a reflection of the demon herself. He simply knew this fact and was reminded of Sakura's eerie white eyes. The Haruno had understood this as well, and maybe she had taken a risk telling him about her plans? Could Izanami punish her in some way or other?

Neji decided then to research the origin of the sword, find every piece of information or lore about it; and in doing so, he would prevent Sakura from falling into that bloody demon's grip. Those threats of destroying Konohagakure was not just empty promises, and however much Neji disliked the main house family for what they had done to his father, he loved Konoha. It was his home, and he would protect it. Even if it was from one of the village's own shinobi. But as he saw it, he realised, he wanted to help the complex pinkette. It was a long time ago since he had admitted to feelings like these, feelings of wanting to help someone, but he did and he felt stronger as he accepted them. And as much as it surprised him, he wasn't all too disgusted with the idea of spending time with her. He might even feel that it would be tolerable.

* * *

><p><em>The Lovestruck Spandex Boy Rock Lee<em>

As he strolled through the bustling streets of Konoha, he found himself falling harder for her. She had stopped calling him Eyebrows for a while now and she regarded him with respect; respect for his own strength. She was an apprentice of the Hokage, being accepted a few months ago into the medical training, she had grown a tad bit taller and her muscles seemed to have improved somewhat. He enjoyed the thought of her taking her physical training and her diet more seriously. He had nothing against her scrawny figure, but she needed more fat on those arms and legs and she needed to harden that soft body of hers. He knew it would make her happier if she did, and a even more excellent kunoichi of Konoha.

Her youthfulness blossomed more so than others, what with that emotion he nowadays always saw evident in her green eyes. She had apparently decided on something. He recalled, to himself on his younger spandex-less days, when he had decided on something similar. She had that same walk, determined, steps that he once had. Lee couldn't stop looking at her, she walked so swiftly up to him, her dreamy pink hair having grown a bit longer and whipped around her face in the wind, so when he realised she had been talking to him, he wiped off the drool in the corner of his mouth and startled her with burning eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan! I was elsewhere with my thoughts! What were you saying?"

He bowed deeply and grimaced at his own foolishness. She smiled and his heart stopped.

"I see. I was only asking if you needed a sparring partner for this evening? I met Neji at the library earlier this morning and he told me that you two were supposed to have trained together, but he is still not completely healed. And Tenten is training with Kurenai-sensei god-knows-where. So I was simply wondering if I could spar with you? I know I'm not really sufficient..." She pleaded and forced a few strands of her hair back behind her ear as she looked sideways to the asphalt. Lee sniffed, a bit surprised. But glad, as he felt energy gathering in his body.

"Ah! If that is what you want, Sakura-chan. I could never say no to you, my queen of flowers." He winked at her. She almost snorted, but she hid it with a gleeful snigger. She was content with his answer, it seemed.

"I'll see you in the afternoon on the training grounds, then. Later." She bid her goodbye and then she walked away to the Hokage Tower. She cracked her fingers and then her vertebrae with a slight whip of her head, preparing for paperwork at the Hokage's desk, he presumed, as Lee watched her walk away. He had heard from Tenten that Sakura had been helping out at the Hokage office, easing the burden for Tsunade time to time. His wonderful flower shone even brighter in his eyes and his platonic love for her grew.

A few hours later into the afternoon, he found the pinkette at the gate to the training grounds. The beautiful girl wore her usual red top with a zipper and the Haruno crest at her back, but this time she adorned her petite body with a pair of black tight pants and sturdy grey boots. Her verdant eyes were fierce as she walked up to him.

"Hey, Lee-kun. Let's spar. Taijutsu." She was right on topic and didn't talk uselessly. But she gave him an almost shy grin as she cracked her fists.

"Are you ready, my dear Sakura? Let us indulge ourselves in the youthfulness of life!"

The spar started, and ended much later that evening. When the pinkette fell to the ground out of exhaustion and from a fast kick to her side, he decided to stop the spar. He had won, of course, in matters of competition - as he liked to see everything as in daily life. He couldn't go easy on her, even if she was the love of his life, when she had told him not to spare her _and_ had that look in her eyes. She wanted this, he realised. Lee had been surprised sometimes, when Sakura used her intellect as an advantage and overwhelmed him from a different angle, but his own instincts covered for his faults at the analytical strategy apartment. He hadn't been touched once during their spar.

She was breathing hard on the ground, her face flushed and sweat glistened on her skin, bruises covering her arms and legs and parts of her face. She had a bleeding wound on her leg which she healed without effort. He had been going a bit easy on her, he realised then. If he had been serious, those bruises would have been broken bones and maybe even severed body parts. He helped her up from the ground and she struggled not to fall back. The question was: why? Why did she need this?

"Lee-kun, would you please evaluate my physical skills and taijutsu? Be honest with me." She had huffed deeply, dried her slightly big forehead and looked pleadingly at him. He raised one eyebrow. Or both.

"Sakura-chan, may I impudently ask why you're doing this? In your field of future work, you don't need to have more than average physical abilities, which you do have." He asked and gave her a water bottle so she wouldn't dehydrate, which she drained in seconds.

"Well, I want to perfect my physical dexterities. I want to be _able_. And I believe you are the most proficient in stealth training, Lee-kun." She smiled through still gasping breaths and she knew, she _knew_ which buttons to push. Lee felt his heart still and he almost imploded with pride. His harsh training had proven to be of more use than he had expected.

"If you deem me the most proficient in stealth, I believe I have an obligation to answer the request of a beautiful cherry blossom maiden." He gave her a wide grin and a thumbs up. The pinkette wiped more sweat off her forehead and hesitantly gave him a thumbs up back. Lee smiled even wider; she was the first of few to answer to his thumbs up.

"I will work you hard, Sakura-chan. Are you prepared for a youthful training session?" He beamed and made a pose for her. A youthful and really cool pose he imitated from Gai-sensei, but none needed to know that.

"Just one? Whenever you have time on your hands or when you're training by yourself, I want to be there." She asked this of him as she sat up and produced a tassel which she left in her clenched teeth, gathered her hair up in a messy bun at the top of her head, then wrestled it in place with the tassel to keep the pink strands out of her face. Lee fist pumped.

"Oh, Sakura-chan! The spirit of your determined adolescence is uplifting. I will hear your demands and make it the most youthful training sessions!"

"By youthful you mean harsh, right?" She smirked, seemingly knowing only a little of Lee's training schedules, but enough to know they weren't easy. Rather, they were like a torture schedule - straining the physical abilities of shinobi to unknown lengths. Lee had heard many Genin talking about his schedules like that, but he ignored them.

"Sometimes, youthfulness covers many aspects of life." Lee chirped and he felt butterflies in his stomach dance. This would be so much fun. _And_ he got to spend time with her.

"We'll start with the weights you are to have on your body at all times, including when you sleep. I'll be honest with you, Sakura-chan. You need to gain a _lot_ more muscle mass to be able to keep up with my own training sessions, so you will at first have to get used to them and when you can match me in a speed race; we can start the real thing. Here, you can have my weights. I have four spares in my pocket."

"Right, I get your point. Ah, thanks for letting me borrow them." The pinkette said and smiled; there was so much expectation in her eyes. She really was determined to do this.

"Don't thank me just yet." He mumbled smugly. She raised an eyebrow.

He gave her four ankle- and wrist weights which he easily loosened from his hands and feet. They were similar to hand cuffs without the chain, but they were black in colour and thin; deceptively so. When she accepted them it seemed like she had thought they wouldn't be heavy enough because Lee had been waving them around like they were air, but when she took a hold of them she fell forward to the ground in a squealing heap. Lee remembered his first time doing the weights with Gai-sensei. He had fallen quite the same way Sakura had.

"They're the weight of mountains!" She coughed in surprise, not being able to lift her arms no matter how hard she tried. As she struggled with them, Lee only watched.

"No, nothing like mountains, each just weigh about 50 kilos. These are the light ones." The spandex boy cheered. "They're specially designed for stealth training, so they're made small but heavy. It's easier to carry on your person." He explained as he tucked out the spares and put it on his own wrists and ankles without trouble. Sakura's eyes became bigger as she watched him.

"And- wait, you have a spare... in your _pocket_?" The pinkette sputtered and heaved on the ground. It seemed like she couldn't believe he was even able to move with the weights. She couldn't move at all.

"Yes, but these spares are too heavy for you. Gai-sensei have several spares in his pockets, I just try to match his youthfulness." Lee chirruped, stretching a bit to get used to his spare weights.

Sakura didn't answer him.

"Oh. I'll help you get them on." He said and went to fasten the weights on Sakura's ankles as she nodded somewhat hesitantly but nonetheless she agreed, and then fastened the weights on her wrists. She fell deeper to the ground and hissed like an injured kitten, all offended dignity and ready claws.

"I can't _move_." She determined as she lay sprawled on the ground, arms and legs stretched out at her sides. She pleadingly looked up at Lee who hunched besides her with a large grin on his face.

"You will. In a few hours." He cheered and clapped his hands. The look in Sakura's eyes told him that she hadn't expected him to be this harsh. Lee could only smile, because he knew that if she craved strength, he wouldn't simply give it to her. He would present her with the choice of it and she had to do the rest herself. That, if anything, was true strength.

"See you later, Sakura-chan! I'll come back in six hours and see if you haven't been able to get up by then. If not, I'll carry you. Like a prince in shining armour!" Lee started to crouch in a leaping stance, but then he was reminded of something that other shinobi possessed, but he didn't. Fortunately and conveniently, he had a chakra restraining paper seal stuffed in his chest-pocket. Just in case.

"I almost forgot, my pink blossoming flower bud. No chakra allowed!" He said as he plastered the seal on her stomach with an appealing look, which told her quietly he couldn't activate the seal without her help, and she agreed. The pinkette huffed, sweat having dried on her body, and then he helped her to lift her hand over her stomach and she activated it with a loud curse as she felt the chakra in her body being blocked. He snickered and gave her a thumbs up, which she couldn't answer with the state she was in, and then he leapt off into the trees for more training; which was to do 500 laps around Konoha he decided in a flash. He could've sworn though, that he had heard a curse under the pinkette's breath, but it wasn't a curse directed at him for his harsh start-up of their training, no, it had been about herself. She had cursed her weakness.

* * *

><p><em>The Female Weapon with Chinese-Style Buns Tenten<em>

It was the weirdest sight ever. What had exactly been transpiring in Konoha when she had been training in Suna for only a couple of weeks? What she saw out the windows from the coffee shop was astounding. Haruno Sakura was actually _crawling_ on the street, then she was up on all fours, only to fall back with a grunt into the crawling position again, slowly getting by with seemingly steely determination. Civilians who passed her by avoided her at more than an arm's length.

Hyuuga Neji followed gracefully after the pinkette, seemingly demanding something from her. Lee was jumping in circles around the crawling form of Sakura, cheering and complimenting her yet telling her to move up on all fours again because it will be more youthful that way. Tenten felt the tea in her throat gush out through her nose as she burst out laughing loudly. She needed to know what was going on, what with the crawling and Neji and Lee, or this sight would haunt her dreams for long nights ahead. People in the coffee shop stared at her for a moment when tea dripped unabashedly from her nose, but then they redirected their gazes to focus on the more interesting crawling kunoichi again.

"What's going _on_?" Tenten called when she hopped out from the coffee shop, wiping away the tea from her nose in the process. Lee stopped short in his tracks.

"Why, hello Tenten! Welcome back!" The spandex wearing boy cheered as he gave her a thumbs up of recognition and stroked some ridiculous pose. The Hyuuga looked over his shoulder, a frown seemingly forever engraved on his pretty features, and then went back to calling Sakura a 'poor form of a kunoichi', something or other. Tenten chuckled, but was baffled still. Was he actually cheering on her?

"Sakura-chan has asked me to train her so she's wearing my weights. I don't know why, but it seems Neji has joined us in the quest of making Sakura-chan blossom!" Lee explained as Sakura strained her neck to look up at Tenten and slightly nodded in a poor greeting, then she continued to crawl on the main street with determined eyes and flushed cheeks, due to either embarrassment or strain, Tenten didn't know. It seemed she was heading for the Hokage Tower. Was she going to work... with those weights?

"What? _You_ train _her_? Is she mad?" She howled with laughter, earning a sour look from Sakura who had been successful in moving a meter away from them. Lee sniffed grumpily.

"I believe so, yes." The Hyuuga boy agreed with that frown on his face, still walking slowly behind the determined and exhausted Sakura climbing the ground for the life of it.

Tenten slightly flinched, what had gotten into _him_? Making conversation outside of training? This had to have some backstory to it. Tenten could sniff it in the air already. What kind of serum had the Haruno used on the Hyuuga? Perhaps a Hyuuga-antidote? The plain thought of it made Tenten snort.

* * *

><p><em>The Powerful Alcoholic Senju Tsunade<em>

She drew a long breath and scribbled down her signature on a request paper, one of the many thousands of papers on her desk. She put the pencil down and stretched, cracking a few joints in the process. She looked over the Hokage's office, her office, and found stacks of paper adorning the sides of the walls. What found her gaze then was a photo on the opposite side of her office. It was a picture of herself and a pink haired girl who smiled sheepishly at the camera.

Tsunade jolted as she took in the photo. The busty woman in the photo grinned widely behind Haruno Sakura and had a hand on top of the pinkette's head. The blond frowned and recalled she actually had an apprentice. It was difficult though, because she didn't have that much time which was needed for her apprentice - since she was Hokage.

There was requests to be looked into and accept or deny them, filing to do, meetings with the Fire Daimyo, straining and swindling stacks of paperwork to sign, missions to be applied to the appropriate team, mission reports to assess, the occasional council meetings with the Elders and that Danzou bastard who always seemed to have a goddamn stick up his ass, the building and reconstruction of infrastructure and its improvements, the Academy literature to be revised, the work at the hospital when there was too difficult procedures for the medics and there was Shizune to occasionally train as well.

The saké drinking maybe wasn't such a weird habit of hers, since this work took its toll on her. Tsunade didn't really know what she'd been thinking when she accepted the girl as her apprentice six months prior, had she thought she could magically produce time for her? Tsunade huffed and regarded her schedule for the day and saw an unusual three hour blank space in the afternoon, and the same the day after. Her nut brown eyes lit up and her finely plucked blond brows raised. She sent a messenger to the Haruno's house for a training session with her apprentice that afternoon.

They stood in a small clinically white and sterile hospital room in the cellar of the General Hospital of Konoha. Tsunade noted that the girl's muscles had improved a lot underneath that red top, and she guessed the hidden weights on her ankles and wrists was proof of it. However, the girl still moved a bit stiffly, a bit slower. But she was at least moving, not crawling, as she had heard rumours amongst the nurses that the Haruno had done a lot in the beginning of the weight-training. She had even crawled to the hospital to work.

In front of Tsunade there was a steel clad operation table where several flopping fishes lay sprawled, all barely breathing in their assigned metal boxes. Scalpels and knives and needles lay in front of each box. Her apprentice looked with not-so impressed eyes at the struggling sea creatures, and Tsunade noted that there was dark circles under her apprentice's eyes.

The Godaime chuckled to herself; she probably didn't understand what she was to do with them. Tsunade decided to level up the training; this part would be harsh and unforgiving. This would challenge the girl's intellectual abilities, her medical knowledge and her chakra control.

"You have been following the strict training schedule I gave you a month ago, I presume?"

"Yes, I have, Tsunade-sama."

"Good. You have also read and practiced the medical literature I gave you?"

"Yes. And a bit more at the library."

"Even better. Now, this will be hard and I don't expect you to be able to do it anytime soon. You will need to practice a lot." Tsunade said lackadaisically and stole a look at the girl; her verdant eyes were still unimpressed. Tsunade frowned.

"I'll show you how to do it first, then it's your turn."

"Yes."

"Watch closely."

The Godaime reached out for one salmon that was near dying and with her slender fingers healed it with soothing chakra. The whimpering fish relaxed, as if under water.

"See, I let my chakra heal the drying lungs and let the chakra flow like water, so now it believes it can breath. You should already know the theoretical aspects of it. Your turn."

The pinkette healed the fish within moments and it stopped moving, calmed down by the comforting chakra. It almost happened too fast.

"I have done some training on my own." She explained with a shrug when Tsunade raised a finely plucked eye brow in question.

"That was... Unexpected, yet not unwelcome. This means I can re-evaluate your healing skills. The next fish will have severe brain damage."

This continued for another hour with each and every fish having different injuries or illnesses, and Tsunade didn't want to admit that she was impressed with the little girl, but she was. This meant that she needed to fast forward the training schedule she had had in mind for her.

"Tomorrow we will begin evasion training instead of doing this. Meet me three o' clock at training ground seven. Don't be late."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama. I look forward to it."

They parted and the rest of the evening Tsunade had two meetings with the law enforcement shinobi division's chief and then one short visit to the Academy. When she was finished at eleven o'clock she needed to get her frustrations out somehow and the only way she knew how, was to go drinking. The constant pressure and her apprentice being steps ahead of her training schedule made the Godaime indulge herself in the wonders of saké at the local bar together with the pleasant company of Shizune. She avoided the gambling tables though.

In the morning at eight o'clock, a growing headache settled in the Hokage's head and she never wanted to get out of bed, but duty called. She felt nauseous all the day through, during meetings and when she signed loads and loads of paper stacks until her wrist was in pain. When it was time for the evasion training with her apprentice, she took the colour explosion balls with her in a hurry, grumbling curses under her breath all the way to training area seven.

When she threw the first colour bomb casually directed at the Haruno, there was at first an eerie silence and then a light at point of contact and then it exploded as it hit the ground deep, vibrations in the ground as it created a large crater and fires took a hold of the dry grass.

_It was a real bomb_.

How could she have been so foolish to mix the real bombs with the colour bombs? The hungover made her back away from the explosion as the shock wave almost made her topple over. She accidentally bumped into the box filled with the other bombs and she knew instantly that due to the vibrations it would set them off within three seconds. In a flash she jumped away from the box unsteadily, but she was still too close when she landed to the box as it set off and a huge explosion destroyed everything near it. A large crater, a few fires and pieces of the ground lay everywhere.

But Tsunade found herself wobbling at a safe distance away. She hadn't died. She looked besides her to find Sakura holding the hem of her shirt in a hard grip which loosened as she saw her teacher's look. She had saved her? When she took in the appearance of the girl she saw severely inflamed skin and burn marks all over her body, the hem of her red top smouldering and melting away and revealing her stomach, but she didn't whimper in pain. Her eyes were strained, but she was alive. Her petite face was contorted in inflamed parts and the skin of her cheek hung loosely in such a nauseating way Tsunade wondered why the girl hadn't passed out yet.

"You alright there, Tsunade-sama?" The pinkette asked, her voice rasping through the crackling of the fires left by the explosions, her lips chapped and burned. She asked her that infallibly stupid question, when wounds oozed on her red and pink skin and blisters started to reveal themselves. The pinkette staggered a bit, but still stood up, facing the Hokage. Wondering if _she_ was alright.

"You idiot!" Tsunade scowled as she puffed her large chest and started to work on Sakura's blisters, her flowing chakra healing them and then the burn marks and wounds and then there was _blood_. Tsunade blanched. She couldn't. She just couldn't. She looked away and felt sick, almost stumbled on her own feet. Blood. Dan. That red liquid running down the body. _Dan_.

"I'll heal myself, Tsunade-sama. You don't need to. I know you can't stand blood. It's okay."

"No." She wheezed through gritted teeth, still looking away to the fires that had started to fade in the wind. "It's not okay. I mistakenly brought explosives instead of colour bombs. I could have gotten you killed! At least, I should be fucking able to heal your burns."

"It's okay, Tsu-"  
>"Oh, for fuck's sake! It's <em>not<em>! Stop that. Just... stop." The pinkette was silent as the Hokage scolded her in exasperation. Tsunade heard the haruno's hitched breathing and she knew the burns were starting be painful as the adrenaline probably left the girl's system. Tsunade took a deep, deep breath until her lungs burned.

"I'll heal you. But I need to close my eyes." She breathed heavily as she turned around, eyes closed as she searched for Sakura's wounds with a light touch of her fingers. She felt them on her scarred arms and she felt the slick blood slide underneath her nails as the girl winced. She shuddered involuntarily and gulped down the vomit in her throat. _It's just water._

"I wasn't afraid of blood before, in my early years a medic." She told the pinkette quietly as she traced her arms for burns. When she felt that there was an inflamed part and she felt the girl wince, she healed it; regenerating the burned cells and weaved the destroyed skin together. Tsunade breathed deeply, blinking away tears as she looked down. Then she closed her eyes again.

"I was pretty fucked up after Dan died. I couldn't really feel anything. I could intellectualise a lot of stuff; that I had a purpose, that I was loved, but I couldn't actually feel anything. And that was when my fear of blood had its growth spurt. I became a sorry excuse of a medic, and a sorry excuse of a Sannin."

"I'm... I'm sorry, Tsunade." The girl whispered. Emotions filled her voice until it burst at the end of her sentence.

"Don't be." She mumbled as she felt a huge burn on Sakura's shoulder underneath her fingers, festering and smouldering still. The girl yelped in pain, but she didn't jerk away from the Hokage's touch. Tsunade felt her chakra drain and directed it into the wound, she felt the burn fade and the oozing come to a stop. It was hot underneath her skin.

"Where are the other burn marks?" She asked, teeth gritted, eyes closed in concentration. The pinkette didn't answer and quietly guided the Hokage's hand down to her right leg. Tsunade gulped as she felt even more blood beneath her fingers and she needed to tell herself that it was just water, just water. She healed the wounds at the girl's thigh, which had been inflicted by flying debris due to the explosion.

They went to the hospital later, Tsunade insisting on carrying her apprentice and as the girl realised she couldn't walk, she grumpily let the Hokage lift her up in her arms, carefully. When they were at the hospital she was put in the care of the best medics and stayed there for two days. But she never let any of the nurses take off her weights.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

Hi guys!  
>Tell me what you think! Did I portray these little lovelies okay? Was Izanagi okayscary? Was Tsunade's hungover bitchiness okay? Was Neji's interest in Sakura taking a leap of faith? (not in a romantic way!..yet) Was Lee spandex whims ridiculous enough?

And as an answer to happy every day life: I think I'll do it like you suggested. Not very canon compliant. My own thing!  
>And the greatest of thanks to my three reviewers - I declare my eternal love for you.<p>

Shipping: I kind of ship everyone. So on a whim, I can decide Sakura's romantic fate. I won't make it a Yuri story, but I wouldn't have had anything against it. So far I'm shipping Neji, Shikamaru, Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke and maybe even Itachi. Possibly Lee, Gaara or maybe someone else. Well, you can all rest assured that I won't start some kind of romance with Sakura and Jiraya. That's where I draw my line.

If you have any suggestions to people I should write the view from, do tell.

xx fascalia


	3. Sweet Dreams

**Transition**

Sakura is perceived from the perspectives of others as she changes during the years into something else entirely. The people near her follows her transition closely and when she starts abandoning everything she held dear - she gets closer and closer to her goal.  
>Non-Canon

Chapter 3

Through the eyes of a Prodigy, a Cloud Watching Boy and a Flower Girl

* * *

><p><em>The Prodigy Hyuuga Neji<em>

They sat inside a dimly lit room of the Library of Konoha in the early morning, the birds chirped enthusiastically outside the windows and the sun slowly crept up from the horizon. Sakura sat opposite him and there were stacks of books surrounding her space on the table near the window. She went through several medical scrolls as if her life depended on it, chewing absentmindedly on her pencil. A white cup of steaming black coffee was at her hand, in near proximity to aid the fight against her morning tiredness. He had noted that the dark circles underneath her eyes had deepened, but he didn't ask her about it. It was something the pinkette had to take care of herself and he had no place in meddling with her sleeping habits. Neji had his own very thick and withered book which was about sword-related lore of Fire Country, dating the lore back to one thousand years. He hadn't found anything of interest yet.

As he looked up from the old words and sentences he watched her fast eyes take in the information of the scroll in her hand, then she quickly scribbled something down on her notebook. The weights on her wrists and ankles were still there, sometimes reminding her of the heaviness when she lifted her arm with strained muscles. She had stubbornly been wearing them for two weeks now, but she had somehow gotten used to them. But she still had a far way to go to be able to keep up with Lee's training schedule, Neji knew. His team mate was somewhat of a training obsessed lunatic and always had such ridiculous antics going on he didn't even know how to react to them anymore. But Sakura seemed to be comfortable in Lee's company.

The Haruno's bandages were so many it was almost to the point of overdoing it, covering almost every part of her body except for her face which was adorned with a gauze at her cheek. Her hair was the only thing that hadn't taken too much damage, as it fell over her shoulders in pink waves. She had probably worn her hair inside a bandana, he considered. It had grown longer. He had heard about the explosion incident from overhearing the maids at the Hyuuga compound; Sakura had accidentally set off several bombs a few days ago and she had been in the middle of it. The rumours came from the nurses at the General Hospital, where Sakura had explained what had happened. Neji had much difficulty seeing the Haruno making that stupid mistake, and he wondered how the Hokage had been so luckily near training area seven to heal her wounds directly. He had seen the Hokage just outside the library before he had met up with Sakura in the morning. The Godaime seemed to have been really mad about something, grumbling 'that idiot' when the busty blond passed him. He had left it at that.

As he watched her over the pages of his book, he noticed something. Something out of place in her eyes as she took in the medical information. _Disinterest_. Why was that? He couldn't get the question out of his mind, so he decided to break the morning silence of the library.

"Why are you aspiring to be a Medic?" He asked, his opalescent eyes on her. The pinkette flinched and looked up at him from her scroll, the pencil still in her open mouth. As if she had been caught doing something un-allowed.

"What? Why are you asking?" She blurted, trying to hide her surprise as she took out the pencil from her mouth. Neji noted with a slightly wrinkled nose that the pencil had almost been chewed to the core.

"You don't seem so interested." He stated as he looked down on the page, continuing to read about an ancient katana absentmindedly. It was a warrior lord's katana and was described as the colour of red because of the blood stains. He turned the page.

"Well... These books are incredibly boring, but full of useful information." She said, still not answering his question. He frowned and his gaze went back to her petite bandaged form in front of him. His gaze promptly told her to answer him and she slumped in defeat on the chair with the coffee cup in her hand.

"You need to understand two things. I believe the medic profession to be one of the more important aspects as part of shinobi community. However, I also believe that the medical training should be offered to every single shinobi hence it would be more useful that way in battle, and a shinobi should not be determined for the ability to use chakra control for the medic profession. I have recently learned that there are a lot of jutsus and medical treatments that doesn't require perfect chakra control. Second of all, my parents are very... protective. I am their only daughter and offspring so I can theoretically understand their concern, but since I am a shinobi of Konoha I can't be stuffed in an ironclad box filled with cotton for the rest of my life. So my parents decided that the most safe way for me to be a ninja is to be a Medic. Instead of standing at the front lines I will be in the back and treat the wounded, out of harm's way." She finished, sighed, and sipped from her coffee. Neji drew an almost unnoticeable deep breath in realisation.

"You don't want to be a Medic." He concluded and Sakura almost coughed up her coffee.

"That's- uh." Was all she could say since she knew she couldn't lie to him. None could. Haruno blushed as her eyes looked everywhere but at his own. "Don't tell anyone." She almost whispered to him, clenching the coffee cup in her hands.

"What do you wish to be, if not a Medic?"

Her eyes flashed pale green as they locked on his own. He almost shivered at the recollection of her white eyes, but he didn't shiver since he was a Hyuuga. A Hyuuga doesn't show emotions of weakness or emotional distress. He would never admit it to anyone, but to himself - that he was afraid of those eyes and it wasn't because of that demon goddess Izanami, even though she also made him feel terror as he'd never felt before. It was because the Haruno had seemed so true to herself in those moments of blood and those white eyes. As if she belonged in the carnage. This time, the prodigy actually shuddered. And then the girl answered him.

"Strong. I want to be in the front lines and face the enemy head on, together with my team mates - to be at their side. Strong enough to be at their side. I want to prevent them from dying instead of simply praying for their safety in the back. I have just had _enough_... of watching their backs."

He knew which people she was talking about. The Kyuubi container and the Uchiha bastard who had left her here. Left her, to obediently wait for them. Neji felt a vein throb on his forehead and he didn't know why he was angry.

"That's where you guys are different." She suddenly smiled and he saw lights reflect in her verdant eyes in the dim library.

"You don't show me your back. You believe in me. You don't insist on protecting me and most of all, you believe that I will be strong one day. That I will be able to protect myself, and even those around me. And I can't express in words just how grateful I am for that trust in me." Her voice was clear and in the humid atmosphere of the library, Neji felt something iron hard clench his heart.

He _had_ wanted to protect her, somehow. From Izanami mostly. He felt guilty but didn't understand why. As he watched her again, her smile could overthrow one of Naruto's obnoxious grins of pleasantness. He decided, right then and there, that he wouldn't protect her. He would only help her in getting stronger and by doing so, he knew, he was protecting her in a different way. Since he would not always be by her side, he couldn't physically help her. She would have to defend herself.

Neji frowned. Where was this sudden protectiveness coming from? This wasn't like him at all. Nothing like how a Hyuuga should be. Maybe... he needed some time away from the Haruno. She was only confusing him. But he knew he couldn't stay away from her. What with the possible threat of that cursed katana, he couldn't let her go.

However, he had a hard time understanding the Haruno as she continued to read the medical literature with a soft quirk of her lips. Her personality before, when they were Genin, had been so easy to discern. She had been so fluffy and bubbly, incredibly shallow, lax yet hard working in her textbook studies, intelligent, not very self confident, angry at times, lonely but loved by her parents, narcissistic, love-struck by the Uchiha, and most of all - annoying.

Almost none of these personality traits could be seen in her anymore. It confused him and unknowingly actually irritated him. He had always been able to see through people's facades and deep into their core personality. But she was somewhat more than that and it perplexed him. At times he'd see her bubbly and easy going side show, but it was gone in an instant. She was not so annoying anymore. She was calculated, a trait which had been visible before but had been suppressed. She was complex. She trained until she was exhausted to the point of over doing it, but she wasn't strong. Just yet, maybe? Her steps were light and silent. Her eyes were hard, but changeable. Like the tidal waves of the ocean, she was ever changing.

Like an evolutionary aspect of life she had transitioned, he stated to himself as he turned the page in his book of swords. He focused on the words about a silver coloured katana's greatness which was now long forgotten.

* * *

><p><em>The Cloud Watching Boy Nara Shikamaru<em>

He invited her over at least twice a week to play shogi with him at the Nara compound's veranda, which overlooked the flourishing green garden. He had heard of the explosion incident the other day, so he wasn't surprised that there were bandages all over her body underneath her red tight top and beige skirt, and there was a large gauze on her cheek. This time, however, when she had been let in and offered tea, he had seen it. It was so obvious, yet hard to understand.

"Why aren't you sleeping, Sakura?" He drawled, making his next calculated move on the shogi board. She watched his fingers move the piece with heavy-lidded eyes. The score was 10-11, in his favour. He never cared much about winning, even though he had without effort always won in board games for the exception of his father, but this troublesome girl had proven to be more intelligent than he had at first thought and he actually _wanted_ to win over her. She had surprised him the first time of shogi playing by winning and he wouldn't let her do it again.

"I do. Sometimes." She answered simply as she sipped from her hot tea, regarding the board in front of her. Shikamaru could see her mind working, searching for possibilities, trying to predict his goal and plotting her next move.

"Seems like 'sometimes' isn't enough. You look like crap." He sighed and folded his arms across each other. The girl looked up at him, squinting with her green eyes.

"Thanks. One could say the same for you." She smiled sardonically and moved a piece. Shikamaru was naturally sleazy eyed and so didn't take the insult to heart, he simply followed her movements with his eyes and couldn't help but feel satisfaction settle in his chest. It had been the right move and it would be difficult to overthrow her now. A perfect challenge.

"Really, Sakura. Sleeping is nice. Why won't you?" He coaxed and sipped his tea. It was hot and burned his tongue, but he didn't say anything.

"It's... I have nightmares." She looked down on her hands which held the dark blue tea cup. Her knuckles whitened and Shikamaru feared that the exquisite porcelain his family had passed down for generations would break and then his mother would break him.

"I see, that's unpleasant. Would you like to talk about it?" He tried to show concern and he found it easily. He had grown to have some kind of friendship with the girl, it seemed.

"I'd rather not." The pinkette said quietly. Shikamaru sighed, but acknowledged her.

"Alright."

Shikamaru then regarded the board and moved a piece. He had been playing this game all of his life with his father, so it was really easy for him with already many strategies in the back of his head. He wondered when the Haruno girl had had time to practice shogi, and with whom.

"Where did you learn shogi?" He asked with a wave of his hand towards the board game.

"At the library." The pinkette sipped her tea, her gaze wandering outside to the lush Nara garden.

"Someone taught you?" He continued to press with arms folded. A librarian perhaps?

"Analysis of and Strategies in Shogi playing by Hisama Gaki did."  
>"A book?" He heaved. He would've been baffled, but this troublesome girl had turned out to be so full of surprises lately that he didn't find it in him to be astonished by her anymore. As the Haruno bent over to move a piece, one of the bandages fell slightly from her arm when the clip fell from the movement. It revealed a few healed burns on her pale skin of her arm, but there were a few scars as well, thinly crescent shaped scars on the side of her arm. They should have been healed away, the medics at Konoha General always did, leaving the skin perfectly unscarred. This piqued his interest.<p>

"Are those scars?" He pointed out, one eye brow raised.  
>"Yes?" She looked at him as if he was stupid, and that was a very rare look directed at a Nara. His ears flushed warm.<p>

"Why haven't you healed them? I mean, polished them away?" He explained and wondered as she started to fasten the bandages with a monotonous movement. Her green eyes then met his, and there was almost an electric current passed between the two shinobi. Shikamaru almost backed down, but he continued to stare at her. Those eyes were so... deep.

"Scars defines a person. If you are weak enough to gain them, then they should stay as blunt marks of reminisce. It also shows your determination to live as a shinobi."

He pondered her answer and found that she was right; they did define a person. Like Hatake Kakashi's famous scar, or Iruka's scar going horizontally on the bridge of his nose. But she was a girl, wasn't she? Wasn't scars a girl's worst nightmare? He regarded her many bandages, the dark circles beneath her heavy lidded eyes, her outrageous pink hair that had ground a bit beneath her shoulders, her petite form that had gained impressively slender muscles since the start of the 'Youthful Training' sessions. Maybe he had preconceived ideas about girls, he found himself realising.

"Tsunade-sama healed most of them on the spot, but I decided that the more shallow scars were to stay." She said as she moved another piece, earning a look from Shikamaru. That textbook she had learnt from seemed to have explained most of the strategies he already knew, so he needed to be innovative in the game, however troublesome that was.

When they neared the end of the game and Shikamaru was the obvious winner, she opened her mouth. Shikamaru eyed her and couldn't help but flinch at the pain visible in her heavy-lidded yet sharp emerald eyes. She was going to tell him about her nightmares, and there was some kind of appreciation settling in his chest when he realised. She trusted him.

"Sleep deprivation isn't all fun and games." She breathed and locked her hands together. "I can't sleep because I am afraid. Izanami-sama deems me insufficient in my current condition. She has decided to train me in my dreams, to widen my perspectives and to strengthen my mental state. And I... can't take it." The pinkette almost broke into a high-pitched sound at the end of her sentence, yet remained tearless. Shikamaru frowned and helped himself up to sit beside her. A comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Why is that demon doing that? How?" Shikamaru asked, trying to compose himself. She had told him one week ago about the truth of the katana during a shogi game, as he had predicted she would. The Hyuuga knew about it already and had accompanied her while on one of her weekly visits. Shikamaru had known, somewhat, that there was some kind of spirit inside the cursed katana. Nothing else could have explained the happenings of the Tajima mission a month ago. The sword, he had learned, was called Izanami. And it was a demon of some sort, maybe a fallen goddess according to Neji, and she had a contract with Sakura. But what Shikamaru couldn't see was if it had been a contract deliberately formed by Sakura, or if she had been forced to agree to it. He didn't dare ask her since he was afraid of what she would tell him.

"We share a connection, a bond. She can whisper words to me nowadays, even if I don't touch her. She's almost always whispering. And because of our contract, she can invade my mind when I'm asleep and my mental state lets go of all the barriers. She can just waltz inside my head. And Izanami-sama is training me because if I'm not strong enough, I'm not worthy of bearing her. The contract states that she is to see... blood at my hands, but if I die too soon because I'm too weak- She won't be satisfied with just that." Sakura explained and bit her lip. Shikamaru massaged his thumb gently on her shoulder, comforting.

"What kind of training?" He tried to get her to look at him, but her eyes stayed frozen at the hands she had folded in her lap.

"You don't want to know." She bit off and now finally looked him in his eyes. Focusing on him and solely him. Green, pale eyes offered him nothing to give in regard of emotions.  
>"I do." He sniffed and stretched his hand for the ceramic cup. He thought he did at least.<p>

"Well. My dreams... It's a battlefield. Always a battlefield, a thousand of years old. It's during the day, with a cloudless blue sky and the sun shines on a wide field landscape, but it's still... dark. The sky is hidden at times by scavenger crows. There is red stains on the muddy grass fields. Mutilated rotting corpses cover the green grass in heaps and broken bones and it smells. It really smells. The stench is almost the worst, it stings my eyes and is sour." She looked down again, defeated by her own emotions and memories, clenching her fist.

"That's horrible." Shikamaru tried, but then her eyes flashed angrily at him. Had they been white, for just a moment?

"That is nothing!" She growled. "It's when _she_ appears. With an army of blank faced soldiers behind her, strictly walking towards me from the horizon. She puts me in the lowest ranks with only one kunai and a light harness. She then vanishes and sits in the middle of the battlefield, in a small throne of sorts. The enemy army and my army only passes her by, as if she doesn't exist. And her black eyes are always on me, following my every move. I always end up in the front lines to be sacrificed as the first plunge at the enemy army, with my one kunai. I _die_ in every dream session. She is able to change slight things in each dream sequence, sometimes I'm facing shinobi of Sunagakure or Mizu no Kuni in the enemy army, sometimes faces I don't recognise, sometimes even shinobi warriors from Konoha. Sometimes, my own fucking family dons the enemy armours." She squeezed her eyes shut, ashamed. Shikamaru could only guess what she had done in her dream.

"She hasn't put the faces of my friends there yet. Not you nor Neji, Lee, Hinata, Tenten or Tsunade. Not... Naruto. Or Sasuke for that matter. I don't know what she's planning to do. The worst is... it feels so real. I can feel the metallic bloody taste on my tongue, I can feel my wounds, I can hear their dying screams as clear as day, the ringing of metal against metal and the orders directed to the ranks by the captains hitched voices. She has started giving me different weapons. And then one time a broken katana, but not her. Even worse is that I get _better_. Each time, I claw my way through metal, flesh and bones and I reach further and further into the depths of the enemy army."

Shikamaru took a deep breath. This was far off more than what he had imagined.

"And so, lately, she has started to appoint higher positions to me. A few nights ago I was Strategist in Command for the the second division in the west flank. We sat for what seemed to me in the dream to be hours in a war tent together with blank-faced commanders, planning and discussing the best way to attack the enemy army with papers of information everywhere and a board with the armies pointed out with wooden pieces. We went through formations, the different skills of the divisions; and which ones we were to _sacrifice_. I couldn't do it, so I was punished." She stared, unseeing, out into the garden.

"You were punished? But it's just a dream. It's not real."

"Izanami-sama can make it real. She can make me feel it. And when I was punished by having them first hammer spikes into my body, setting candles on top of them to make the stearine drip into my blood stream and in doing so, numbing my body and then it got to my heart, and then they cut off my parts of my body and then set me on fire, I screamed so loudly my parents and neighbours woke. I wake them every night." Shikamaru shivered involuntarily.

"It-that... I don't understand how that is even part of training. To punish you for a moral and must justified thought process is wrong. She might be testing your tolerance of pain, but that is just ridiculous. Since it's just a dream, Sakura."

"I know, but truthfully, it really isn't just a dream to me. It's too real, too fresh in my mind. I kind of understand how war veterans must feel. I feel too old, ancient almost. Like I'm not _supposed_ to live, when so many others have died. I have died as well, just so many times in my dreams, the lines between reality and dream has become blurred."

Shikamaru couldn't find the right words to say, so he said nothing. Only squeezed her shoulder.

"I think I'm going to move out from my parent's house." Sakura slipped the words out of her mouth before she had even realised it to be true, and then drank the last of the now cold tea liquid. As she put the ceramic tea cup on the low table, she moved to draw the last piece of the shogi game and Shikamaru's eyes widened as she put it in its position. _How_? With all the odds against her - she had won?

"See you next week, Shikamaru."

She stood and left him there, all wide eyes and mouth slightly agape. He decided to watch clouds the rest of the day, having abandoned the board game, which he didn't touch. The pink haired girl was just so damn intriguingly _troublesome_.

The next day he wandered through the garden and appreciated the view of the flowers and the trees growing as domes above his head, letting shafts of sun lights stream through the canopy on the green grass below. Training with Asuma-sensei had been appointed later that day since Ino's schedule at the hospital was quite hectic. They were going to prepare for a B-class mission soon and Asuma-sensei had told them he needed to re-evaluate their skills since he had noted some improvements in the team.

Shadows played on the ground and he knew that this place was where he felt most at home, where he belonged, in the shadows. He silently walked, lounging and looked up through the canopy to find parts of the blue sky visible. A tap on his shoulder made his heart stop for a second, he hadn't felt a presence nor heard any steps towards him. As he turned around only to see pink hair, he relaxed. But a question nagged in the back of his mind; when had Sakura learnt to mask her chakra presence to this extent?

"Sakura. I thought you'd come back next week. Up for another shogi game?" He smirked.

"Yes, but I need to talk to you. No shogi this time." Her eyes were clear and the dark circles around her eyes seemed to have faded somewhat. He felt something tingle in his chest; she needed him?

"You slept last night?" He asked as it dawned on him and they started to walk through the alley, closely beside each other.

"I did. But the training session this time was different. It has always been the same battlefield scenery, so I don't know what to make of it; it's really confusing. It almost seemed like Izanami-sama had no control over last night's dream sequence."

"How was it different?"

"When I came to, I was in a tea house. It was a really old tea house, everything - the furniture, the house, the tables, should have been withering, but it seemed like they were newly made. I found myself sitting behind a small table and in front of me... Izanami-sama sat there. She was different this time. It seemed like she couldn't control the dream and she growled. I was afraid and couldn't move; Izanami-sama has that kind of impact on me still. All she eats is blood and flesh through the katana. But I couldn't turn away, her face was younger somewhat and that ruby adorning her forehead had changed into a sapphire. She was so beautiful, even when she scowled as she couldn't move up from her sitting position. Her black hair fell around her in waves, her white yukata was the colour of the moon. She was so different. Then that man came in and settled besides me."

Sakura viewed the alley and her pale eyes glistened, just like the sapphire she had described on Izanami's forehead. Shikamaru couldn't look away.

"He presented himself as Izanagi and made tea for us, in a traditional way. He was really graceful, beautiful and had the same kind of hair style as Izanami and he just seemed to emanate power in his every move. Then I saw anger and hatred and maybe even sadness and regret flare in Izanami's eyes as she silently sat on the other side of the table. She didn't receive tea from him. Izanagi was kind to me but he looked at Izanami with disgust, almost as if she was rotting and had bugs creeping over her body. He never talked to her once. Izanagi left then, gallantly, but as if running away from Izanami's piercing hatred. Then Izanami looked at me and spoke without that freezing coldness in her voice."

Sakura breathed deeply and collected her memories of the dream. She closed her eyes with fluttering pink eye lashes, like the batting of wings.

_"I loved him once. _Izanami confessed, her sapphire glinting. Her eyes black._ He loved me once, too. Until the day he saw what I had become. Then my world fell apart and yours was created."_

Sakura said and quoted the demon's confession, her eyes opened and far away into the distance, somewhere Shikamaru couldn't see. He didn't know what to comment on in this dream sequence.

"We need to investigate Izanami. This can't go on. If this continues, you will seriously die from sleep deprivation. Or she will kill you. Or you'll go insane because of those whispers. Whatever." Shikamaru said simply then as they neared the Nara mansion at the end of the alley.

"I know, thank you very much. Me and Neji are working on it. She won't kill me though, just make me suffer. She needs me but I don't know why."

"I can help you guys out, if you want. But I won't do it if it's too much work." He said and kicked a stone with his foot. The stone crashed hard into a tree a few yards away and was stuck in the bark, the vibrations from the stone made the canopy of the tree let go of a bundle of leaves to scatter in the wind of spring. Sakura smiled, then her countenance stiffened and she stopped walking.

"_Oh_." Was all she said. Shikamaru raised one eyebrow in question. She looked at him, wide-eyed, her cheeks flushed, a hand covering her open mouth.

"That... The dream sequences. All of them. They are the echoes of her memories."

* * *

><p><em>The Flower Girl Yamanaka Ino<em>

She had had enough. It was about time for them to have a one-on-one girl talk. She had swiftly looked up the forehead's schedule in secret. So when the blond girl showed up in front of Sakura's new apartment that late Saturday evening, surprise was visible in her green eyes.

"You. Me. Girl's night." She growled and irritably flicked her now long pony tail behind her back. A perfectly manicured finger pointed accusatorially towards the baffled pinkette who hung at the opened door in the shadows of the lights behind her.

"You're so deep in this training shit I haven't even seen your pink cheap bubblegum hair around the hospital for weeks! Friends _meet_ and _talk_. You seem to have forgotten this worldly fact so I'm here to remind you that I exist as well. There are things outside of your ridiculous weights and training!" She hissed as she stomped inside the apartment. Boxes laid in structured stacks everywhere she looked with her squinting disapproving eyes. She would decorate this mess into a beautiful apartment none the matter what that girl said.

"Ino..." Sakura mumbled. "I'm sorry. I have been busy. Do you want some tea?" The Haruno girl asked as she scurried inside after Ino, shutting the door after her. Ino turned to answer the pinkette that it was saké that they were going to consume tonight, but then she got a real good look at the pinkette's face in the light of the hallway.

"Oh, _god_, Forehead. You look like Choji landed on your face and farted." Ino blinked and said without thinking; she saw the pinkette snort, then burst out laughing until there were tears in her eyes. Ino saw how the tension in her shoulders disappeared.

"Ino, I missed you more than I thought." Sakura dried the tears in her eyes and Ino acted offended and sniffed.

"You stinking billboard brow. You always miss me."

"I stand corrected, Ino-pig." Sakura huffed with a grin and went into the living room followed by Ino.

"I should change your nickname, by the way." Ino chirped and swung with her arms in some kind of dance. "You have changed so much since our early rivalling years. I mean, you train all the time and so on. Even though your forehead is as large as ever, I think it's time for a change."

"Oh? And what do you have in mind?" Sakura called as she slowly went into the kitchen.

"_Fartface_." Ino gleefully declared and she heard a loud snort from the kitchen. Ino bounced into the other room triumphantly to find Sakura's head inside one of the cupboards and loud clinking noises was made. In the light of the kitchen the blond saw that there was something fastened at Sakura's hip. She recognised it as a scabbard, a black and sleek scabbard containing an old katana.

"What's _that_?" Ino wrinkled her nose and pointed to the sword. Sakura flinched and turned towards Ino with two ceramic cups in her hand and closing the cupboard with the other.

"Oh, this? It's... just a sword I bought a few weeks ago." Sakura explained sheepishly and gently grazed the exquisite sword-hilt seemingly unconsciously with her fingers.

"That's one ugly katana. I didn't know you had an interest in sword fighting, forehea- fartface." Ino stated and went to the fridge to ravage Sakura's alcohol stash. She cracked her knuckles in preparation.

"I guess I've just taken a liking to it. Swords are handy." Sakura shrugged her shoulders as she put down the cups on the floor and sat down with her legs crossed. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any tables or chairs yet. We'll just have to sit on the floor. I think I have a few pillows somewhere..."

Ino found a large saké bottle with a squeal of delight and forgot all about that unbecoming katana thingy. This bottle would definitely do for the night, she thought happily.

"It's a gift from Tsunade." Sakura explained as she eyed the blond when she poured the cups up to the edge. With a graceful movement, Ino picked the cup up without spilling a single drop. She saw amazement show in the Haruno's eyes when she sipped from the cup. God, this is some strong stuff, Ino thought as she gulped the alcohol down.

"Seems like you're used to this kind of stuff." The pinkette giggled and tried to pick up the cup without spilling. She didn't succeed, as saké spilled slightly over the cup's edge when she brought it to her mouth with a lot of effort. It was then that Ino was reminded of the weights on the Haruno's wrists and ankles.

"It takes practice, my dear fartface. Some sunny day you will learn." Ino cheered and squinted her eyes as she held her own cup gallantly. The Haruno balanced her own cup in her hands, trying not to spill some more.

"You're just fifteen, Ino. You shouldn't know how to drink." Sakura scoffed as she drank from the cup. Her cheeks flushed immediately as the pinkette noted how strong the alcohol was but she didn't cough; Ino was silently proud of her.

"Don't tell me this is the first time you're drinking?" Ino almost shrieked as she realised, and dramatically brought her hand over her heart as if in shock.

"Shut up, Ino-pig." Sakura grumbled as she took another sip from her cup.

"Fartface."

"You're childish."

"And you have a fartface, so we're even." Ino pointed out and changed her position to lie down on the floor on her stomach with the help of a pillow Sakura had produced from one of the many boxes. It was way more comfortable.

"How does that even make any sense?" Sakura laughed and sipped some more of the saké. It seemed like the Haruno had come to like the burning sensation of the strong saké, and Ino grinned.

"What doesn't make sense is your face. What have you been doing lately? Or maybe I should rephrase since I know of that little threesome you have going on, _who_ have you been doing?" Ino smirked as the pink haired girl sputtered saké on the floor.

"Ino! I haven't been 'doing' anyone!" Sakura growled, wiping her mouth with a faint blush on her cheeks. _Adorable_, Ino thought smugly.

"I know. I just wanted to see your reaction. Wait, are those scars?" Ino's attention got caught as Sakura's sweater had slid down her arm and in the process revealing a few burn marks and bandages. There were about three half moon shaped pink scars visible on the side of her arms, not covered by the bandages. Ino reached out to poke on one of them. Sakura didn't flinch.

"They suit you." She stated as she slid back on the soft pillow.

"That is completely not something I expected coming from your mouth." Sakura stared at Ino as if she was an entirely different person and she slid the sweater up on her shoulders.

"I myself would never leave scars on my own perfect skin, but somehow, they suit you. They give you more of a presence, I think." Ino only grinned and sipped from her cup. It was getting easier and easier to consume the strong saké.

"Thank you, I guess." Sakura said with a smile, as if looking at Ino in a new light.

"Oh shut it." Ino wailed. "No sentimental stuff, thank you very much. It's so out of character it's disgusting, fartface. Or maybe it's scarface now?" Ino rolled away on the floor to avoid a pillow flung at her.

"So, how's it going with those wrist-ankle weights? Heard about your procession through town in a rather unladylike fashion a couple of weeks ago. I hope crawling isn't a new habit of yours." Ino asked and rolled back onto her claimed pillow, with glinting cerulean eyes. Sakura smiled widely and sipped some more from her cup. It seemed like the cup was now forever glued to the pinkette's hands. Ino wondered if she should be worried or not.

"Well, three days ago I raced with Lee and I succeeded in keeping up with him, finally. He's going to train me seriously now, together with Gai-sensei who said it would be more youthful with two teachers. They really make time for me outside of their missions, and I'm so damn glad that they're sacrificing their time to help me get stronger. We changed the weights to heavier ones today so that's why I've been working and training in my apartment. I can't really move far yet." She pointed to the black sleek weights on her wrists. Ino couldn't really imagine that they were _that_ heavy.

"I can see that." Ino muttered as she took in the medical scrolls covering the floor, jutsu scrolls and other scrolls she didn't want to know what they were about. There were other weights as well on the floor, really heavy looking ugly ones, and different instructions on large papers of katas to perform. A few books on sword fighting lay in one looming pile at the corner of the kitchen room.

"You really take this whole thing seriously, don't you?" Ino muttered softly.

"Yeah." Sakura's green eyes glittered and Ino simply saw how much the girl was enjoying the harsh training.

"You're insane, you know that? Off-the-grids insane." Ino smirked and played with her blond hair, swirling it around her finger. The pinkette only nodded at this and continued to drink.

"You had guests over today?" Ino looked up at the three used cups on the counter which she just noticed. Sakura looked at the cups and grimaced.

"Yeah, that pestering Hyuuga boy and that lazy-ass Nara decided on a whim to come by. We played shogi for an hour or so, until I had enough of their bickering and kicked them out." Sakura wheezed but her voice suggested gentle feelings rather than irritation.

"So you have time for those asscracks but not me? Double standards, double standards I tell you!" Ino flung her pillow at Sakura who only swayed with her head to avoid the pillow which smashed the wall behind her in a flurry of white feathers.

"I'm not very good at taking initiatives to meet up with people. But I'm sorry, Ino-pig, if I hurt your feelings. Please accept my humble apology." Sakura bowed deeply with her head, her pink shiny hair falling gently over her shoulder in the process. Ino scowled as she saw a sarcastic grin displayed but hidden underneath the curtain of pastel hair.

"Pah, you didn't 'hurt my feelings'! Just get your shit together and come visit me at the hospital sometimes, and not only when you have been setting off bombs on yourself. I call for a meeting every once a week. _At least_. And that's final."

The Haruno grinned as she looked down at her former rival who was sprawled on her kitchen floor, with her blond head supported by her hands, elbows on the pillow.

"I promise."

"Good. Now that we've cleared that mess, we need to get on to the next subject."

"Which is?"

"Your ex-teammates. I know you don't want to talk about it because it's painful, but you need to get that shit out." Ino said, her voice suddenly soothingly warm even though she cussed. Sakura frowned and looked down on her hands.

"What do you want to bring up? That Naruto is out on an adventure with the pervert Jiraya? That Sasuke-kun is brooding and getting stronger in a dark place god-knows-where with that slithering snake pedophile Orochimaru? That they left me?" Sakura asked with emotions overflowing in her voice and she gritted her teeth.

"Yeah. Exactly about that. That blond idiot and that wrecked handsome manpain." Ino quirked and only looked at Sakura who didn't say anything more than that.

"You miss them, don't you?" Ino didn't need an answer as Sakura's eyes filled with tears which streamed silently down her cheeks in currents. She didn't wail or snivel or anything, with a cold face she only let the salty tears run their course. Ino got up and hugged the pinkette who pried her head into the blond's shoulder. Ino felt how her violet top got soaked in tears. She actually didn't care.

"Hush, don't cry."

A moment passed, then a croaky muffled voice was heard from the depths of Ino's top.

"I'm not crying. I'm leaking."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

Hello!

I wrote this chapter solely because of my reviewers. I was supposed to study my ass off today, but I just couldn't stop thinking about the reviews I received and I just had to do another chapter today. So I dedicate this chapter to my lovely reviewers. And fudge you, university exams. Fudge you very much.

Answers to a few reviewer's adorable questions:  
>- I'm still not sure who I am going to pair off Sakura with. The candidates are still many, but you might convince me for one of your own choices if you give me the right feel with a little description.<p>

- The two idiots (the foxy boy and mr. manpain) is to show up later! They're not ready yet though. Naruto is after all gone for about two and a half years I think from the time Sakura was accepted as an apprentice of Tsunade, so at that time they will appear. Some more characters will appear at that time as well which you must have noticed are missing, so don't give up your hopes!

- To **LadyofReincarnation**: Wow, I mean, just wow. I don't know how to express my gratitude with words only. But I'll try. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You're the kind of reviewer that makes me want to think it's worth spending hours after hours on my ramblings of a fanfiction. And I don't care that much about recognition of my work, as long as people like you review and make me feel like a god of fanfiction. But recognition wouldn't hurt, really. Haha. As humble as I am.

Till next time! Be awesome out there you guys, (and tell me what you think)!

xx fascalia


	4. One Thousand Men

**Transition**

Sakura is perceived from the perspectives of others as she changes during the years into something else entirely. The people near her follows her transition closely and when she starts abandoning everything she held dear - she gets closer and closer to her goal.  
>Non-Canon, Sakura-centric

Chapter 4

Through the Eyes of a Lovestruck Spandex Boy, the Nosey and the Unknown Librarian

* * *

><p><em>The Lovestruck Spandex Boy Rock Lee<em>

It was early morning and the Forest of Death had never been as lush and full of life. Lee sprinted up a tree and got to the top of it, swaying on a small branch. It was one of the higher trees in the deadly forest so he had a wonderful view of Konohagakure village, the sky above was clearly blue and the sun peeked up from the mountains far away. The warm breeze caressed his cheek and his hair was ruffled by the soft wind. This will be a good day for training, Lee thought as he closed his eyes and let the morning light warmth fall on his muscled form.

"Lee! Get down here." A loud voice was carried to his ears by the wind and he smiled as he jumped out into thin air, went spiralling down into the depths of the forest down below and landed hard on the ground, making dust seethe out from underneath the sole of his feet.

"Are you ready for the race, my dear flower bud?" He cheered as he took in the view of his student. She stood with quivering legs in front of him, sweat glistening on her forehead and veins pumping visibly on her strained arms. She held her arms above her head, balancing the large moss covered mountain rock on her hands.

"Are you serious, Lee?" She asked through her teeth, eyes shining verdant in the morning sunlight.

"Why, yes!" He clapped his hands as he felt the energy in his body make him jump around. Sakura wheezed, but he saw that she had a lot of strength left in her body. He wanted to test her limits, so he needed to do this. She still wore the heavy weights, the same he wore, and now the extra weight of the mountain rock made her feet sink into the ground.

"Let's go!" He shouted and set off into the forest. He heard a heavy huff behind him and the cracking noise of the ground splitting underneath her feet as she followed him with the rock above her head. A few miles later of running with cussing and wheezing coming from the medic, Lee looked over his shoulder only to see a huge hissing green snake, the size of a house, slither behind Sakura through the canopy.

"Look out! He yelled and was prepared to attack the snake who had its yellow predatory eyes set on Sakura's running form. The pinkette looked back and saw the snake open its wide jaws to show impressive rows and rows of sharp teeth, dripping with poison. Lee was on his way to kick the snake away into eternity, but he was too late. Sakura cussed loudly and settled her feet hard into the ground, arched her back and then threw the mountain rock hard into the huge snake, which made it break through trees after trees away by the force of it. Shattering sounds of wood and the ugly snap of the huge snake's spinal cord was loudly heard during its journey through splitting trees. The snake finally lay in a slumped form, the rock having dug its way into the body of it, having crushed the hard skin and its intestines flooded out on the forest floor.

Lee could only watch when Sakura calmly walked up to the unmoving snake a few yards away, through the chaos and splinters of broken trees, walked up to it and determined it was dead. She huffed and looked at the snake's teeth still intact, drops of its watery clear poison made its way on the rows of teeth. The Haruno produced a test stick and a small plastic container from her thigh pocket and went up to the snake's jaws, standing almost inside its huge mouth. She took a sample of the poison from its glands and carefully poured the dangerous liquid into the plastic container. Satisfied with the result, she shoved the medical instruments back into her thigh pocket and made her way back to the gory mess left of the huge snake. The exhausted pinkette grunted as she picked up the bloodied boulder and shoved it up over her head.

"Hate snakes. But they do have useful poisons." She said under her breath and sturdily walked up to stand beside him, the huge mountain boulder looming over Lee, creating a large shadow to engulf him, hiding the spandex boy from the sun. A questioning look was seen on her creamy complexion, as if asking why he had stopped. Lee didn't say anything, he just started running again. As if away from something.

A few hours later he looked back once again at Sakura, who had diligently been following him until this point; and she was on the verge of breaking now. But she continued, sweat streaming down her legs and arms and it looked like she had taken a bath. He was actually quite surprised that she hadn't given up yet. What he remembered from the Sakura of the genin days, the she then would have quit after the first ten minutes or so. But they had been youthfully and constantly running for hours on end now.

Suddenly, he heard a yelp and then a loud crashing noise and with his instincts, he jumped up far into the air to avoid the mountain rock rolling fast underneath him only to crash into a tree a bit ahead. As he landed besides the crumpled form of the fallen pinkette, he saw bleeding and inflamed blisters on her hands and her eyes were half way open and glassy as she lay on her back, breathing for the life of it. Her red top was drenched in sweat.

"Should we stop and rest for a bit, flower bud?" Lee suggested since he recognised exhaustion and overexertion when he saw it. Maybe it was obvious to others, but he had almost always continued even when he was exhausted to the point of vomiting because of it.

"No."

It was all she said as she stubbornly sat up, waggled up to the mountain rock and with a shout of '_shannaro_' shoved it up into the air on her bleeding hands. Her hands shook with strain, but she didn't waver, and held the rock up above her pink head. Wine coloured liquid streamed down her arms from the blood of the snake and from the blood of her blisters.

"Let's go." She grunted and started jogging away into the forest, almost falling again, but then she didn't and continued forward. Lee sat for a second completely speechless, but sat up straight and followed her with a loud declaration of his never ending love for her and joined her in the quest for strength.

* * *

><p><em>The Nosey Akamaru<em>

He recognised the scent and sniffed in the air, all waggling tail and perked ears. He used to love that scent since it always reminded him of spring, that season when the weather warmed and he got to run in the fields and train with Master. But lately, the scent of spring had changed. He decided to investigate on that strange human who had changed its scent, so he sprang from his position underneath the table with a little howl. Master didn't seem to care but he acknowledged that Akamaru was about to take a stroll, but then Master sat back on a chair and howled in human with a man opposite of him. The man smelled like burnt oak and wet grass. Akamaru liked the man, but didn't want to interrupt their conversation with a jump-roll-and-lick manoeuvre. So he went on an adventure in the streets, following the changed scent of spring.

He saw a flurry of that strange hair a block away, and he shouted in a greeting. The human turned around and seemed surprised, having shopping bags in each hand. The human's azure eyes locked on his and he jumped at her so she fell down to the ground, since he had grown a lot bigger now, and she let go of her bags with a squeal. She produced a sound from the depths of her stomach as he had his paws on her chest, it was called laughter. Her hands stroked his fur and he noticed they were bandaged. Then she spoke human.

"Oh, Akamaru! Get off!"

He recognised his own name happily as the human laughed even more and licked her cheek in a friendly greeting, then the human stopped laughing. It tasted like cherry blossom and honey but with a hint of soap and salty waters. He decided her taste hadn't changed at least. But when he sniffed her further when they were so close, he noticed it. _A stench_.

He sprang back from her, circled her and looked warily at the human. The scent was dark, it was _not good, not good_. It reeked of metallic red stains, of ripped rotting flesh, of crushed maggots, of innards on the ground. A stench he hadn't sniffed before in his whole life. He whimpered and growled. The human seemed surprised and got up from the dusty ground, but then she looked down at her hip as if she knew what he had reacted to with a pained glint in her azure eyes. She had a long, black and thin weapon of a kind strapped at her hip.

He sniffed again and determined most of the stench came from the long, sleek weapon. It reeked of murder. _But not all of that smell came from the object_. He noted that blended in the cherry blossom scent which originated from her own body, there was something dark as well. A certain frosty coldness, it smelled like sharp icicles on a dark winter night. It was so well hidden he wouldn't have noticed it on the street. He growled again and showed his teeth in defiance to her change, why had she changed?, as he indignantly ran away from her and swiftly avoided the humans in his fast movements through the bustling street.

He ran to his Master. His Master never smelled like he could kill him.

* * *

><p><em>The Unknown Librarian of the Hokage's Secret Files Senju Kitsune<em>

That girl just seemed to devour information. Like it was actual food and she had been starving for years, she hungrily scanned through the old papers at the oakwood table in the middle of the library. It was interesting to see, since Kitsune thought she herself had been a special case of a book worm. But this girl was just like her, except for the outrageous hair colour perhaps. She was hard working and cared for the books and scrolls in the same way Kitsune did. Information and history was all important aspects of humanity, and the past needed to be handed down, to not repeat past mistakes and look brightly into the future. She seemed to share her mind in this.

One time she had found the girl too close to one of the restricted areas of the small library and she had scolded her harshly, almost threatened her that she might not be allowed inside again. The girl had apologised for wandering thoughtlessly and promised to never do it again, but Kitsune had noted a light of interest in the girl's eyes. She had been just two steps away from the automatic transportation seal that went to the ANBU headquarters archives, which was activated when one touched a certain black and small book which lay in a hidden bookshelf. This transportation seal existed to ease the information exchange between the two libraries, made for the use to the personal librarians of the Hokage and the personal archive-responsible person of the ANBU leader. The Hokage seemed to have forgotten all about Kitsune sometimes, so she wondered slightly if she even remembered the transportation jutsu.

The Secret Library at the Hokage Tower was Kitsune's own property and for generations her ancestors had protected it, filed and archived everything for the current Hokage's personal literature. The Library contained mostly medical scrolls nowadays, scrolls the Godaime shoved inside and never went back to read. There were stacks of older scrolls from former Hokage's as well, but those belonged in the restricted areas. But Tsunade's apprentice handled the medical scrolls gently and read every single one of them. She mostly visited during the night, saying she couldn't sleep. Kitsune had her living quarters next to the library room so she always helped the girl inside and made tea for them. She got used to having the pink haired hard working girl there and she came to trust her. So when Sakura stumbled inside when Kitsune was filing old works of Hashirama, swiftly swiping conservation oil over the old papers, she let the girl help her. The writings of Hashirama were beautiful and it happened often times that they discussed his philosophy and thoughts on the world. Kitsune came then to know that the girl was intellectual as well, not just a book worm.

The librarian hadn't noticed she was lonely until that day the pinkette barged in to her library, all sweaty and searching for a certain medical scroll to give the Hokage on her orders. The Godaime had apparently given the secret location of the library to her apprentice. Kitsune came to be fond of the Haruno and trusted her with all of her heart. The librarian showed the knowledge hungry pinkette some old scripts of deceased Hokages and other political leaders. Sakura gulped the information down and Kitsune could almost see how the girl would always remember the inked words. But after a while, she started to see it and wonder why the girl always came at night.

Kitsune now knew that the pinkette suffered from severe sleep deprivation, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything. The pride of a medic, she thought, would be to never suffer from disease or illnesses, so she didn't question the girl's condition. Kitsune wondered silently if the Godaime knew of this.

This night, however, the girl hadn't come. Kitsune thought that she heard a knock on her bedroom door, but when she went to check there was none there. Kitsune grumpily went into the library as well with her large key and the chakra enhanced password. Kitsune shivered, it was cold. There was none inside the library and she double checked the most secret files, they were untouched. As she went back and locked the door, she wondered if the girl had finally been able to sleep, and so the librarian strolled back to her own dreams. What she didn't see was the glowing light coming from the automatic transportation jutsu at the hidden bookshelf and the slightly moved black book.

* * *

><p><em>The Shy Beauty Hyuuga Hinata<em>

Her eyes were tired, as if she had acquired the knowledge of the world.

"G-good afternoon, Sakura-san. Have you been training?" She nodded with her head in a formal greeting. Sakura flinched, stopped walking and looked at the Hyuuga heiress in front of her, seemingly coming back to reality.

"Oh... Good afternoon, Hinata-san. No... I was just at the Hokage's Library, reading some medical scrolls. What are you up to?" She asked as she gathered her now quite long pink hair in a pony tail at the top of her head, quite like the style the Yamanaka girl had.  
>"N-nothing at the moment. D-d you happen to have some time on your hands, perhaps?"<br>"Yes? Two hours or so, then I'm meeting up with Team Gai for a multiple training session."  
>"Eh, uhm. M-maybe... You'd like to have some coffee with me?"<br>"Ah. That sounds lovely." The pinkette smiled but her eyes were distant. As if she had learned of something she couldn't take her mind off. They went to a coffee shop on the main street, a cosy little shop hidden from the street view by a large oak tree. The coffee shop, which was called 'Black Gold', was not very well known but Hinata knew they brewed the best coffee in Konohagakure. When they had each bought their coffee they settled outside on the stools, underneath the canopy of the oak tree. The sun shone gently on the tree, making shafts of light stream through the canopy to play with the shadows on the ground.

"How are you, Sakura-san?" Hinata tried, seeing as the Haruno's eyes had started to grow a disturbing light, like a smouldering fire had started somewhere in there. Hinata wondered why she was so angry. All hell broke loose in Sakura's verdant eyes.  
>"Fine.", Sakura said and her smile didn't reach her eyes, "How are you?"<br>"R-really, Sakura-san. M-maybe I can be of s-some help." Hinata mumbled and blushed.

"Oh. You Hyuuga people can see through anyone, I guess. Like clear glass." Sakura chuckled. "But no, I'm afraid you can't be much of assistance in this. I'm very... sad, and very, very angry about something I just learned today. I feel like setting fire to the village at the same time as I feel like I want to go into hibernation for a thousand years, to hide from this fucked up world." Sakura sneered into her coffee cup, something suddenly glistening in the corner of her eye. Hinata felt something clench her heart.

"I-I'm assuming you won't t-tell me this recently learned knowledge. And please don't set fire to the village, i-it would be most unnecessary. B-but can I still, perhaps, b-be of some aid? Y-you are Naruto's teammates after all, I want to help you." Hinata tried again, and this time Sakura looked at the Hyuuga heiress with warmth, and not the burning kind.

"Ah, I see. Well, maybe you can, actually. If you really want to." Sakura said, her eyes now glassy and murderous at the same time. Hinata wondered if she had made the right choice to ask the pinkette if she wanted help.

"I need to vent my anger. If I don't do it before the training session with Team Gai, I'm sure I'll be too hotheaded to fight anyone decently. They'd laugh me off." She said, cracking her fist. Loudly.

"N-naruto-kun is always hotheaded and strong."

"Yeah, but Naruto is Naruto. An idiot who can survive anything. I need to be calm. I can't fight if I'm too angry or under emotional distress." Sakura seethed, and Hinata saw those eyes burn again and a vein throb on her slightly large forehead. Hinata couldn't get that cold feeling she got from Sakura away from her stomach, like an ice block it settled there. Maybe she wanted Sakura to vent her anger just as much as the pinkette wanted to. It seemed like she had been suppressing her anger for far too long, and this thing she learned today apparently made it to the boiling point.

"I-I know a good place to vent anger." Hinata confessed as she drank the last of her coffee.

"Really? Where?" Sakura sniffed, frowning. The Hyuuga heiress saw how hard the pinkette clenched her own fist that she wondered when the skin would break from her nails digging deep into her palm.

"T-there's a large field owned by my clan a couple of m-minutes away. It's mostly used for t-training and it gets destroyed all the time, so y-you can hit anything there as much as you want. I don't think any clansmen are supposed to t-train there today..."  
>"Let's go." Sakura growled and got up fast from her chair, but it seemed like she realised something. "Thank you, Hinata. I can't thank you enough for this." And she smiled. It was so genuine and out of place on Sakura's face that Hinata flushed. Hinata hadn't known Sakura could smile like that, with only warmth in her eyes. The Hyuuga girl, as she rose from the stool, noted that Sakura hadn't touched her coffee.<p>

They sprinted on the roof tops, Hinata leading the way, and a few minutes later they had gone through the gates to the Hyuuga mansion, ran past it and a mile or so away was the field. Sakura seemed to almost flinch when she saw the wide landscape unfold in front of her. Hinata wondered what had made her scared of fields and open landscapes; they were so peaceful and beautiful, she thought. Sakura went there unwillingly and stood still in the middle of a flat part of the field, and unstrapped her black scabbard from her hip and laid the katana gently a few meters away. She then closed her eyes.

"I'm doing offence. Please, attack me." She told the Hyuuga through her teeth. Hinata had a bit of an arsenal of weapons in a scroll she had taken with her from the Hyuuga mansion, inspired by that girl Tenten's style, so she unsealed it. Twenty shuriken came into existence on the ground and Hinata picked one up.

"Don't hold back, Hinata-san. Whatever you do, don't hold back." Sakura said, her eyes still closed. Hinata activated her own Byakugan. She wouldn't let the pinkette down.

"You need to open your eyes, Sakura-san." Hinata called as she released the first five shuriken at the same time, running all the while in a circle around Sakura. With but one kunai she somehow produced in a second, in a blurry she hit every shuriken hard into the ground. Her eyes still closed. With the force of her hit, the shurikens buried into the ground until only the tip of them were visible in a circle around her. It was eerily similar to the Gentle Fist.

Hinata's eyes widened slightly. She knew that the pinkette had taken on Lee's training but she hadn't expected the girl to actually grow this strong. Hinata stopped running and slowed down, to stand in front of Sakura. This wouldn't do.

"Sakura-san. I think it's better if you hit something with all of your power instead of offence training. That way you can drain your anger and your strength." This sentence, and Hinata was surprised herself that she hadn't stuttered, made Sakura finally open her eyes and Hinata saw that the shuriken had not been even close to appeasing Sakura's anger. The pinkette nodded and looked around her.

"Can I hit the ground?" She asked, still gritting her teeth. Burning eyes. "I haven't really tried out a real punch since I started training with Lee."

"Hit it as m-much a-as you want, Sakura-san." Hinata accepted and smiled shyly.

"I think you need to step back, Hinata-san. A mile or so, just to be sure." Sakura's eyes were burning so strong now that Hinata thought she'd get a burn mark if she was too close to the pinkette. To run a mile away to avoid the reverberations of the hit was ridiculous, but Hinata didn't dare question the Haruno.

"U-uhm. Okay. Give it your all, S-sakura-san."

A mile away proved to not be far enough.

* * *

><p><em>The Head Hyuuga Hiashi<em>

Hiashi was not often surprised, but today he had been baffled.

"The destruction of the training field? By one punch to the ground?" He asked again, he needed to confirm, the assistant from the branch house paled as he repeated the information. He had actually heard it correctly. In shambles, only rocks and ruins they said, as if an earthquake had ravaged the field. How could it be an earthquake when he had seen his daughter and a pink haired girl run to the field, emanating a very fiery chakra, saying they were to practice drills? His otherwise dormant interest in other matters than those of the Hyuuga clan perked. The pink haired girl, was it?

* * *

><p><em>The Senbon Guy Shiranui Genma<em>

The girl was a genius in a pink haired disguise. The last three missions he had been on two-man missions with her and he had heard of her fast climb through the mission ranks. He had been interested in what way she proved to be useful. And he knew that she must have been underestimated so many times because of her hair colour, he saw it in her eyes. The first mission they had together was to gather information in Wood Country. Her henge had been perfect; a blond haired civilian girl who knew nothing of the outside world. She acted just like the description he had given her and she had even outshone his own act as her protective brother.

The B-class mission had gone smooth and they had gathered the information they needed at bars and hotels. Whispers of a new leader in Wood. They sent the report to the Godaime and started to travel back to Konohagakure. But they had been attacked. The law enforcement shinobi of Wood had apparently recognised the senbon Genma always had in his mouth and attacked them on the road in the forest, on orders of the uprising leader who apparently wanted to keep his political standing a secret to other countries. Genma was fast to send his senbon flying, taking care of every single law enforcer without killing them.

When he turned back to see the Haruno standing behind him, wielding her humming sword, her face was almost disappointed. He left it at that, not really wondering why it was so. He only silently praised her ability to fuse her chakra into the weapon.

The second mission had gone without trouble and they conversed through the entire trip, and he somehow got to know the girl. She wanted to prove herself it seemed, since she requested of him to stand back if they were attacked again. He had told her he couldn't promise anything.

The third mission had gotten out of hand, but had been successful. It had been her first A-class mission. They were supposed to assassinate an uprising leader near the borders of Tea on request of the Tea Daimyo. They had successfully snuck into the house through a window, come into his room without trouble and when the Haruno was about to inject a needle into the leader with a poison, from a green mamba snake she had told him, they were found out. A guard had just happened to peek inside the room where the leader was asleep and had shouted in alarm for back up. The Haruno had been so fast, too fast, to draw her katana and slice the throat of the leader. He died in silence and a blood gurgling ugly noise. Genma had sprung out of the room only to meet several guards coming his way. In their movements he saw they were all trained shinobi, and had probably gone rogue.

In a pink flash, she was past him, slicing her way through the corridor. There were no screams. She clawed her way through, but it was ever so elegant in a way it almost seemed like she was dancing in splatters of blood, to the last one man standing who was trembling at the end of the corridor. The man had screamed something before she beheaded him in one swift movement and Genma thought the words had been 'white-eyed devil'. But he was still in shock, so maybe he had been wrong. The girl was on another level, definitely jounin if not more. Why hadn't she taken the test yet? He wondered silently as he walked up to her, to tell her they needed to get a move on before more guards arrived, and he heard a soft whisper come from her lips. It was like frost.

"Twenty one."

* * *

><p><em>The Powerful Alcoholic Senju Tsunade<em>

"Danzou will be the fucking death of me, I swear." She mumbled in a scowl and sipped a bit of her hidden saké bottle. The alcohol made its way to her stomach and it warmed her insides, making her slightly forget the whole ordeal of the ANBU and Root and that Danzou-shithead. He was too harsh and unyielding and dangerous and worked too much in the shadows.

Tsunade had just found out that the Root division had tortured a missing nin from Sunagakure for information regarding the political climate and if there was any threatening whispers directed at Konohagakure, as well as the location of his fellow missing nin from Suna that he had formed a team with. The missing nin from Suna died while being tortured. Tsunade's frown deepened. The missing nin's body was requested from the Council of Suna to be sent back, since the missing nin's family apparently still cared for a funeral of their son even if he had gone rogue. She suggested that they shouldn't hold an open coffin ceremony.

The Council of Suna and the Kazekage didn't take this turn of events lightly - there would be some repercussions. She had just recently, through long and unforgiving meetings with powerful and irritating people, formed some kind of friendship pact with Suna, but this situation would shake the foundations of that already quivering agreement. Tsunade scowled and stole another sip from the smuggled delicious bottle of forgiveness liquid. Shizune hadn't found this one bottle yet, and if the Hokage were to decide, it would stay that way.

"Tsunade-sama?" Without a knock, Sakura strolled inside the Hokage's office as if she lived there. The weights on her apprentice's wrists and ankles seemingly didn't bother her anymore, as her steps were light.

"Pinky. This isn't a good time." The Hokage muttered in a greeting, fast to hide the bottle.

"Oh, you see, I have devised a little plan you might take an interest in. Do you wish to hear it?" Sakura smiled slightly, almost eerily so. Tsunade looked suspiciously at her apprentice, stubbornly hiding the saké bottle behind her back.

"I won't take the saké from you, Tsunade-sama. Will you just hear me out?"

"What is it?" Tsunade asked as she safely tucked out the saké bottle for a little sip, still frowning but she was interested in what her apprentice had planned.

Sakura smiled coldly then, but this time it almost seemed wicked. And then the pinkette told the Godaime of her plan and Tsunade's heart froze.

* * *

><p><em>The Prodigy Hyuuga Neji and The Cloud Watching Boy Nara Shikamaru<em>

They sat together at the Nara compound's veranda one sunny morning, drinking tea and playing chess. Sakura and Shikamaru was deep into the game while the Hyuuga sat besides them, reading a book. It was very silent except for the occasional chirping of birds.

"I can see you're sleeping better, Sakura." Shikamaru noted and broke the comfortable silence with one raised eye brow as he moved a chess piece. The score between the two was 40-42 now, to Sakura's favour. She was winning and he didn't like it.

"Yeah. I've somehow gotten used to it. But there's been one change lately in the dream sequences. Maybe it's because I'm sleeping for a longer time now." The pinkette confessed as she observed the chess board.

"Oh? And what is that?" The Hyuuga questioned as he turned a page in the book, which was about reincarnated gods and goddesses lore.

"I remember when I die more clearly, each time. Before, it was always in a blur of pain and agony and I always thought I died in the battlefield, but now... I think she has tried to prevent me from remembering this. But I do recall everything now. Of her memories."

"So?" Shikamaru asked and ruffled his hair, which was for once let down and fell in brown cascades down to his collarbone, as he took in Sakura's recent move with a wrinkle of his nose.

"It's the same scenario, when I got punished for not sacrificing a division as a Strategy Commander a few weeks ago, when they hammer spikes into my body with candles on top, they saw my limbs off and sets me on fire. But these last nights I remember the place I am in, a dark room with candles in circles around me. I'm fastened to a wooden table with chains and there are many blank faced men and women scattering around me, all wearing ceremonial clothes. I realised it was a ritual of some sort. And when I'm burning as they... place the torch at my severed feet, I can feel my flesh peel off and I'm numbing, there's a man besides me - and I recognised him."

She drew a deep breath and stared at the chess board, having the full attention of both of the men besides her. Neji saw that there was something off with the kunoichi lately, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"It was Izanagi. He was mumbling something in a language I didn't recognise and were making seals with his hands. He wore a ceremonial white kimono. And he held a glowing katana over my burning chest and brought it down with a whisper. That's when I die from a bleeding heart and I hear him say '_It is fate if we are to meet again as the form of war, Izanami._' And then I wake up."

"That might have been the reincarnation ritual of the katana; and the fusion of Izanami and the sword." Neji said and realised it was true.

"I know." Sakura said and drank some more tea. It was very bitter, but it seemed like she enjoyed it.

"So what can we do about it now, since we know?" The Nara asked, looking up to the sky. The clouds drifted slowly in the blue sky, taking their time to move forward.  
>"Not much. I still have the contract of blood, binding me to her." She sipped her tea with closed eyes. Neji and Shikamaru exchanged a glance; both understanding.<p>

"Sakura. What exactly does the contract say?" Hyuuga asked the pinkette, putting the book down on the table.

"You don't need to know."  
>"We do need to know, Sakura. To be able to help you in this mess. Even though it's tiresome. But you need to understand that we are here for you. We are the only ones who knows about Izanami." Shikamaru said, squinting his eyes at her petite form.<p>

Sakura looked up from the board game and met his eyes. She sighed and frowned, as if considering something. She regarded her two companions and in that moment, they both noticed the struggle between trust and discomfort in her eyes. But she decided and unwavering green eyes locked theirs, as if hypnotising them into a trancelike state. Decided they were worthy of knowing.

"I am to take the lives of one thousand men." She let go of the sentence as if it had been weighing down on her like a boulder. "When I kill the last man, I am _free_. She said she will never visit me in my dreams again. Never whisper again. Never call for blood. She said that if I did this task, I will fulfil a promise. And if don't fulfil it within the next three years, I will die. She will make me slit my own throat with the katana. And then she will destroy Konohagakure."

"One _thousand_ men?" Shikamaru sputtered, his teacup falling and hitting the table, spilling his tea all over the chess board. The hot liquid ran in currents around the pieces.  
>"In<em> three<em> _years_?" Neji blanched and hit his fist against the table in rage. It was not normal for him to display his anger physically, but this was not a normal situation. This was beyond normal.

"And you have been keeping this from us this whole time, Sakura? Oh, god." Shikamaru shivered, anger culminating in his eyes. _That demon. That demon_.  
>"Sakura, how many men have you even killed so far?" The Hyuuga seemed to have calmed down and tried to assess the situation in a somewhat cold fashion.<br>"Twenty one." She said, her eyes never lowering or backing down, always looking up. The two men both gasped. That was more than both of their kills counted together.

"I've been assigned to a lot of missions lately; so I have an excuse." She explained, drinking from her tea. Her fingers were eerily steady, holding the tea cup.

"Did you count in those five missing nin you... eliminated, on the Tajima-mission?" Shikamaru asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes squeezed shut. A growing headache, apparently, which he now so often had.

"No, those didn't count since I was under Izanami-sama's control. I need to kill them myself, when I'm aware of what I'm doing." Her voice was so cold it almost made the two men shiver, as if a winter breeze had blown through the core of their bones.

"Do you understand how many lives you need to take?" Shikamaru whispered almost inaudibly.

"Yes. I have 988 men left to rip away from their families, their friends and their dreams. Of course I understand the situation I am in!" She growled, visibly losing her temper, eyes flaring verdant. Shikamaru and Neji didn't blame her; that amount of people she needed to assassinate was a larger number than any shinobi in Konohagakure village had ever taken. This was going to take a toll on her mind, obviously.

"I know where I need to go. Where I have to go." Sakura said in a low voice. And it dawned on the Hyuuga like lightning; she was going to try for being a executioner. It wasn't illogical, the executioners were mostly medics and worked together with the T&I department. That way, she would be able to maybe fulfil the contract in three years.

"No. That work- it won't do you any good." Shikamaru said, realising the same thing Neji had.

"Huh? You already know?" Sakura's green eyes were surprised. But when she studied her fellow companions' faces she sighed in relief. "Ah. You don't know." She said and huffed, moved a piece on the chess board. The Nara regarded her and moved another piece on the board. He was near winning the game now.

"It's not executioner work you're going to do?" Neji asked, frowning.  
>"Perhaps, perhaps not."<p>

"You're making this very difficult for us, Sakura." The Nara complained and stretched with a grunt, folding his hands behind his head.  
>"I know, I'm sorry. But I can't let you guys in on this one." The pinkette smiled sadly and moved the last chess piece.<p>

"Damnit, Sakura!" Shikamaru scowled, if it was because of Sakura's secrecy or that she had won this time too, Neji didn't know.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

Hey guys!  
>One very perceptive reviewer commented on the Izanami and Izanagi lore and oh my, I mixed up their genders. Hehe. So the sword's name is actually Izanami, not Izanagi. The beautiful man in the tea house was named Izanagi, in last chapter's dream sequence.<p>

I'm sorry for having this chapter a little shorter than usual, but it was kinda hard writing since there were so many different scenarios I had in mind and so little words. Still, I hope you like it. It's moving a bit forward now, isn't it? I hope my elusiveness isn't too stupid.

Tell me what you think!

xx fascalia


	5. Inferno

**Transition**

Sakura is perceived from the perspectives of others as she changes during the years into something else entirely. The people near her follows her transition closely and when she starts abandoning everything she held dear - she gets closer and closer to her goal.  
>Non-Canon, Sakura-centric

Chapter 5

Through the Eyes of a Powerful Alcoholic, The Prodigy and a Man Without a Name

* * *

><p><em>The Powerful Alcoholic Senju Tsunade<em>

Tsunade still couldn't believe what her apprentice had told her two days ago. That plan was perfect to the core of it, even though it didn't really favour the keeping of the girl's life. But the information Sakura had gained and the paper copies she had brought which proved them to be true, since Tsunade knew the signature of Danzō, the Council members and Sarutobi's own, and she just couldn't see their humanity anymore. Tsunade didn't know what to make of it. She felt her anger directed at Danzō grow a thousand times over and this information proved to her that he wasn't just a bastard with a stick up his ass, he was a sick bastard with a powerful and influential stick up his ass.

Tsunade understood somewhat that he in a sense had protected Konoha; the question was if it had been the right way to approach the problem and the uprising. Tsunade understood as well that Sakura had somehow acquired highly classified papers and she guessed they were copies from the ANBU headquarter's archives, though the Godaime had no idea how that pinkette had gotten in there. The mysteries about that girl...

She needed to digest this information. And in what better way than with saké? She tucked out the hidden saké bottle from underneath a loose wooden plank on the floor and at that very moment Shizune came walking in through the door. Tsunade's eyes widened as she had the bottle at her mouth. She saw how Shizune's eyes darkened.

"Tsunade-sama. How many times have I told you not to drink while in the Hokage Tower?"

"Uhm, about 329 times. I believe. Not that I'm counting or anything." Tsunade muttered and painfully gave the bottle to her oldest apprentice, who took it with a glint of bitterness. "I really need that one later though." She added and the black haired kunoichi frowned.

"Did something happen?" Shizune asked as she put a stack of papers on the Hokage's desk, joining the other five towering paper piles. Tsunade growled.  
>"Yes, something happened. And I need to think."<br>"That's a surprise." Shizune said with a grin as she avoided a medical scroll flung at her head with trained movements. Shizune was too used to Tsunade's angry outbursts and violent flinging of things in the near vicinity, the Hokage thought with amusement. The best part about Shizune was that she never asked the Hokage what was on her mind; if Tsunade wanted to tell her, she would. If she didn't, Shizune shouldn't ask.

"You know what. I'll file these papers and you go have a nice little chat with Kameosa-san." Her apprentice said with a smile and ushered the Hokage up from her seat, so she stumbled up from her sitting position.

"Kameosa? Oh, Shizune. You don't know how much I appreciate this." Tsunade exclaimed and grinned, taking the offered saké bottle back to her safe hands. She tucked it close to her large chest.

"Kameosa is a haunted saké jar according to ancient lore and superstition. Because of your ethereal guidance in life, I see every saké jar as a Kameosa." Shizune remarked as she sat down in her teacher's seat, cracking her stiff back loudly.

"Thank you, Shizune. Have in mind that because of me you're the assistant of the Hokage as well. I'm going to have an intimate conversation with Kameosa now. See you tomorrow."  
>"Yes, Tsunade-sama. Have fun - and try that thing called 'thinking'."<br>"I'm starting to wonder if you're a devil in an angel's disguise or just plainly a sarcastic pig."  
>"Bye-bye now."<p>

Shizune slid into the chair's comforts and started right away on the papers. Tsunade huffed and smiled as she went back to her empty apartment. What would she do without her oldest apprentice?

And Kameosa. Never forget Kameosa.

* * *

><p><em>The Cloud Watching Boy Nara Shikamaru<em>

"You and I both know that this cannot continue." Shikamaru said, his posture slack but his black eyes were piercing. The Hyuuga boy nodded slightly in agreement. They sat in Shikamaru's large living room, but they were alone. Heaps of books about old cursed swords were spread on the table in front of them. Neji had found that several cursed swords would be cleansed in either nightly full moon fires or in blessed rosemary leaves prayed to by a Shinto priest. They had been discussing the issue all day, going back and forth, trying to find loopholes in the contract Izanami had made with Sakura. They had found none and saw the only solution laid in front of their eyes.

"We burn it." The Hyuuga said, determination visible in his white eyes. His hand went to his hair, flinging some coffee coloured strands behind his ear. Shikamaru was silent for a few moments.

"Do you think Sakura will concede?" He questioned, cracking his vertebrae with a light snapping sound. Neji's shoulders tensed a little at this.  
>"No. That is why we take it from her, without her knowledge." The Hyuuga stated and clenched his fist.<p>

"Oh, I see. She won't know what happened. She will be free."  
>"Precisely. The sooner, the better. I believe we should do it tonight, since it's the last day of the full moon."<p>

"I agree."

"She can't kill a thousand men only to appease Izanami's hunger. She won't. I won't let her bow down to some bloodthirsty sword demon." The Hyuuga hissed.

"I know already. _We_ won't let her." The lazy boy mumbled and he stood up from the floor.

The Hyuuga followed his example and they went out into the night, not seeing the last page of an open book flap open because of the wind. The last page told of never being in contact with the swords of Gods, since it meant the end of all.

They hopped on the rooftops of Konoha village, coming to a stop right above Sakura's apartment. Shikamaru sneaked in through the open window, ever so silently, and he noticed that Sakura wasn't there since there was no chakra presence in the flat. Shikamaru thought she might be at the Library of the Tower on one of her nightly visits to Kitsune. _Lucky_, Shikamaru thought as he found the cursed katana in the corner of her room. At first he hesitated. But he knew the scabbard was filled to the brink of restraining seals, so he produced the chakra enhanced gloves and picked up the katana. It was so heavy he almost stumbled. He couldn't believe Sakura could swing it around so easily...

He felt the chakra move around inside the scabbard, humming with smoky charcoal like power. It was like holding a restrained but ferocious predator animal. He was fast to jump out the window and up to the roof. The Hyuuga only glanced at the sword and shivered. Shikamaru frowned at the sword in his hands, the Hyuuga actually _shivered_; which meant that he saw that the chakra was moving inside the scabbard.

"I don't want to drag this out." Shikamaru whispered as they flew over the roof tops, his hands clenched the katana worriedly.

"We'll be at the mountain soon." The Hyuuga assured the Nara boy, not looking at the sword.

"You don't want to hold it for a few seconds? I think I'm going to puke."  
>"I-I'm afraid I can't. All I see is the smoke chakra reaching for me. I'm... I'm sorry, Shikamaru. These are times when I wish I could deactivate my own eyes."<br>"Oh." Shikamaru answered, it was the first time he had heard the proud Hyuuga boy actually stutter. It astonished him.

"Don't go all Hinata on me, old friend." Shikamaru tried to tease, but it just came out in a croaky voice. Even so, the Hyuuga smirked with strained eyes.

They arrived minutes later on top of the Hokage mountain; the moon shone the most clearly at the top. Shikamaru was fast to put the cursed sword down on the pyre they had prepared beforehand. Neji directly lit the fire with a torch and poured alcohol over it. The fire took a long time to start, but then it found the alcohol and with a spark, a blazing fire took hold of the pyre. The sword was settled in the middle of the small inferno. Shikamaru and Neji stood in silence and watched the cursed katana burn. The scabbard started to melt, smouldering in the heat. Shikamaru exchanged a glance with Neji; the blade itself was the same as before. The hilt as well, it was left unharmed. The only part of the sword that burned away was the protective seals inside the scabbard and the scabbard itself. The blazing fire produced a large geyser into the sky of thick, grey smoke swirl away into the night, covering the white full moon.

"What is going on?" Neji was puzzled. The sword should start melting by now, Shikamaru noted. Why wouldn't it? Shikamaru's heart clenched, and fear gripped his stomach likened to the feeling of ice-made butterflies fluttering about inside him. With razor sharp edges on their wings.

"It should be cleansed. It should _melt_." Shikamaru frowned as he said the words and shivered. What was happening?

Suddenly, a scream broke through the sparkling fire and the silence of the night. Shikamaru felt the hairs on his neck stand on end. It was one of the most painful screams he had ever heard. He was fast to turn his head to the side, to see what creature could produce such hurting vocal sounds. A woman staggered uphill in the green terrain, fell to the ground but got up just as fast, wailing like there was no tomorrow as she walked up to them, then past them towards the fire. He saw the stream of her tears in the moon light.

"Sakura?" Shikamaru couldn't believe his eyes. How had she found them? Why was she screaming like she was dying? Neji was frozen at his side. Like he had just understood something. The Haruno stood in front of the fire and screamed her lungs out, hulking and sobbing at the same time. She turned around, the fire's light played on her anguished expression and Shikamaru saw blood trickle out of her nose. What was happening?

"_We_... we are bound. _She is a _part_ of me_." She wheezed and sputtered blood on the ground, eyes glittering _white_ with pain, they were _white_, and then she walked into the fire. Neji gasped and Shikamaru felt his heart stop beating. The pinkette walked into the inferno like it didn't touch her and went to the katana, and screeched in a heart wrenching way as she grabbed the hilt and Shikamaru heard a sickly sizzling sound when she made skin contact with the sword. But Sakura didn't drop the katana, she gripped the hilt hard, turned around and walked out of the fire.

Shikamaru couldn't believe what he was witnessing. Sakura was unharmed from the inferno, yet she was still crying, now sobbing soundlessly and her nose was still bleeding. He saw the katana smoulder in her hand and he could see how it burned the flesh on her hand. Like a thin liquid film, green chakra covered her whole body and he realised she had let chakra flow from her every pore in a water like state to suppress the fire. If it was conscious or not, it was still marvellous.

Shikamaru made himself walk. _Move_. Then he ran up to her, held her close in an embrace which she didn't return. She was hot, like a fever ravaged her body.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Sakura. I'm sorry." He mumbled into her hair. Her eyes were empty and white, the tears had dried on her cheek and she looked at him as if she didn't recognise him. The pain had made her numb.

"Wha-what have you done? Take the katana away!" Neji blurted as he hurried to her side and tried to lodge the katana from her hand. It didn't budge. Shikamaru tried to help, but the sword wouldn't fall from her grip. They tried to bend her fingers but it didn't work. It was stuck. The burn marks continued to dangerously rip at her skin, sizzling and smouldering. As if it was meant as a reminder to never to do anything like this again. Like it was a warning of some sort and that scared him.

"What in the world is going on?" Shikamaru whispered as his eyes glazed.

"_Don't ever try this petty trick again. Or I will gouge out your eyes and cut out your heart._"

Sakura's voice made them stop trying to take the katana away from her grip. They looked up at her and the moon's light fell on her face and Shikamaru didn't recognise the expression as that of Sakura's own. Her facial features were older, more mature, more cruel, more dark. Her eyes were plain white now, the same hue as the full moon and she looked at the two male shinobi with disgust. Neji sniffed in fear as he realised who it was that was actually speaking through the Haruno's body.

"Izanami." He breathed and Shikamaru fell down on the ground, his eyes never leaving her standing form as all of his muscles failed him. Neji's hands went limp to his side as he stood in front of the white eyes devil.

"_When I burn, she burns. You fools._" Izanami hissed through Sakura's mouth.

Then in the gust of the wind, the harsh expression disappeared from her face and the Haruno fell. Shikamaru had regained enough of his composure in time to catch the kunoichi as he scrambled to his feet. The Hyuuga looked with unseeing eyes into the fire.

"What have we done...?" Neji whispered. Shikamaru scowled.

"We need to get to Konoha General. I'll take Sakura there, you call for Tsunade. Hyuuga Neji, _move now_!" Shikamaru almost roared as he lifted the unconscious kunoichi in his arms. It was surprising how light she was, he absentmindedly thought. Neji jerked back and looked at Shikamaru, then at Sakura's slumped petite form in his arms, still holding the cursed sword in her grip. Even when unconscious, she gripped the katana.

"Yes." He stated and Neji was back and Shikamaru could breath again, as he ran away into the night with the girl in his arms. Neji leapt off the mountain into thin air, towards Senju Tsunade's residence. He would be fine, Shikamaru told himself. Tried to convince himself. They left the fire to die out.

"I've come to an insight. You're not troublesome anymore, Sakura." He whispered into her pink, fluffy hair as he ran. It smelled like flowers and sweat and burnt hair and salty tears. "You are a complete pain in the ass. You pink haired banshee."

* * *

><p><em>The Prodigy Hyuuga Neji<em>

He held his head in his hands, elbows on his knees as he was sitting down on a hospital chair. Tsunade had rushed to their aid and had tried to bend the katana from the girl's fingers, but nothing had happened. The Godaime had healed best she could around the hilt in Sakura's right hand, the flesh that had been burnt was healed swiftly. She stopped the inflammation, but the hilt of the katana was still there. The Godaime had healed the internal damage as well and she had been quite puzzled; since the damage to the girl's insides had been that of a fire victim. When Tsunade was finished the wounds had been healed to function normally and they all waited for the Haruno girl to wake up.

But Sakura was unconscious for a whole day, and the Godaime had bitterly told them that she had slipped into a coma. Shikamaru had told the Godaime the story about the sword when she had asked them, however - he had not told her the whole truth. Tsunade now knew that Shikamaru and Neji had tried to burn the cursed sword but Sakura had taken it from the fire, saying it didn't work. And then she had passed out from the pain. The Godaime believed the story but she had had a frown on her face. She had ordered them not to try it again, since it seemed that Sakura liked her sword.

Neji couldn't believe it all had gone so wrong. She was in a coma. It was supposed to have been swift, it was supposed to have freed Sakura from the demon sword. How could it have turned out like this? Neji was sure he had scanned every book, every scroll there was about demon possessed swords. He had memorised every word. The katana should have been cleansed. Sakura shouldn't have felt that the katana was burning, she shouldn't have been set on fire on the inside. What kind of bond did they have? What kind of bond let the sword have an emotional connection to its contractor? It was so wrong, everything was just so wrong.

Shikamaru was sleeping on the opposite side of the room, in a chair. It looked uncomfortable, but the intelligent successor of the Nara Clan snored. Loudly. Neji frowned and his gaze wandered to the hospital bed in the middle of the room. She seemed so peaceful, he noted. Even with the humming machines next to her, the respiratory mask placed over her mouth, the beeping sounds of the machine showing the rate of her heart beat. Her hair fell softly around her head, spreading around the pillow. The katana was placed besides her, wired with blankets to not let her hurt herself if she awoke. Her creamy skin shone with a light sheen of sweat on her bare arms and she just seemed so at peace with herself. Neji found himself wondering if she was dreaming. Then he was reminded of what her dreams consisted of and flinched. How foolish was he? Izanami was probably punishing her in her dreams. 'Training' her in that godforsaken battlefield with blank faced soldiers. Neji couldn't hate himself more in that moment.

A knock was heard from the door and Neji looked up. The Godaime peeked inside and scowled as she saw the prodigy was still awake.

"You, young man, need to sleep. It has been two days already. I'm sending you home." The Hokage growled as she stomped up to the prodigy, towering over him with a cocky stance. Her brown eyes glinted with concern.

"No." He promptly told her and crossed his arms defiantly, looking away to the hospital bed. Tsunade's frown deepened.

"Hiashi is here." She told him gently. Neji's head jerked up, eyes startled. In that moment, a man walked inside the hospital bedroom. He had a stern face, and the famous long, dark hair known to the Hyuuga's flowed behind his back, he walked up to the hospital bed with gallant steps. Not even glancing at Neji.

"So this is the girl who destroyed our training field." The Head of the Hyuuga Clan murmured as he took in her peaceful features. Then the patriarch turned his head towards Neji, making shivers of anger and fear go down Neji's spine as he patiently waited for the scolding. He felt how Hiashi's cold, marble white eyes bore a hole through his head.

"Stay here if you must. But a Hyuuga takes care of ones health, so I order you to sleep. If you will, then sleep like the Nara." Hiashi ordered the prodigy, then swiftly left the room, only leaving silence and a speechless Neji behind. Tsunade almost chuckled, but only waved at the prodigy.

"I will seriously put you on sleeping meds if you don't comply with your Clan Head's order." She sniffed and then strolled away. Neji noticed the slight smell of alcohol coming off the Hokage as she left him in the fluorescent light of the hospital room. It seemed like he wasn't the only one who had taken a toll at the pink haired girl's condition.

The next day and the day after, there was no change. He couldn't stay forever at the hospital, so he took up a few missions to pass time. The C-rank missions were boring and maybe he had been a little bit too violent against that rapist who he had been requested to apprehend in Tea Country. That man could no longer rape again, Neji thought sternly as he handed him in to the law enforcement in the little village, meeting the requester at the same time. It was a woman, accompanied with her daughter. When the woman saw the blood on the rapist's pants she let tears slide down her face quietly. Then she went up to Neji, and she kissed his cheek. There was no need for words. She had handed him more than necessary in the payment, and she had seemed poor from the start. Neji couldn't help but see the empty eyes of the woman's daughter. She was only thirteen, he heard.

Silently, he slipped an inconspicuous letter containing the double amount of money she had paid a few hours later. In the letter was a will from a deceased faraway relative to the woman and her family, saying they needed the money more than any other relative. It was of course something Neji had come up with in a moment of thinking, but it was worth it. When he hid to see their expressions when they found the letter, the daughter's smile was overwhelming. The mother seemed to not understand the amount of money in her hands. He left it at that and went back to Konoha. He felt the sudden need to go to the hospital.

One week - seven days - 168 hours from the day of the fire, she awakened. It was a long time since Neji had felt that kind of happiness, and he saw the same emotion reflected in Shikamaru's eyes. Ino cried and cried as she came to the hospital, hugging her best friend until the latter couldn't breath. Lee couldn't stop snivelling at her bedside. Everyone was happy, but Neji saw it. Maybe it was because of his perceptive eyes, maybe it was a trait special to the Hyuuga's, maybe it was just his unique way of noticing things none else did. She had changed again. When everyone had come to cheer on Sakura and later left because she still needed to rest, he found himself alone with her. And then her facade slipped off. Her happy grin was replaced with a stern line. Her glittering verdant eyes were replaced with sapphire-like, diamond hardness. They hadn't talked about the fire; it was a silent agreement between the three that they would never attempt anything like that again.

"What happened in your dreams, Sakura?" He dared ask as he sat next to her in a hospital chair.

"Very little, and very much." She answered as she looked at the katana stuck in her hand with wondering eyes. Neji watched in fascination as she spread her fingers from her grip easily and placed Izanami on her lap carefully.

"How-"  
>"So none would deliberately take her away from me." Sakura cut him off short sentence and he felt his ears flush. He couldn't meet her gaze. Those diamond hard eyes.<p>

"This looks nice." Sakura investigated her hand. A large pink and reddish scar, a burn mark, was horizontally engraved into the palm of her right hand. It was a hideous scar, but Sakura looked at it like it was a piece of jewellery. Suddenly she wrinkled her nose. Neji's head jerked up.

"Oh." Was all she said, then it seemed she tried again with something. Nothing happened.

"What is it?" He inquired. He wasn't sure he liked her expression.  
>"I can't... can't produce healing chakra with my scarred hand." She blurted and frowned again. Neji's eyes widened. Uncalled for, she suddenly burst out laughing. The Hyuuga prodigy was perplexed, yet again, by the pink haired girl. The Haruno tried to breath but she just laughed, a tingling musical laughter was produced from the depths of her stomach.<p>

"With my left hand, I can heal. With my right hand, I can kill." Sakura raised her left hand into the air. "The hand of life and...", she raised her right hand as well, "...The hand of death." She held her hands in front of her face, studying them with a grin on her face. Neji didn't understand her. What had happened during that week of sleep? What exactly had that demon done to her?

Sakura was suddenly watching him, with those diamond hard sapphire eyes, as if she had read his mind.

"I have died over a thousand times in my dreams this past week. I came to be the leading Captain Commander of the army in the battlefield. Last night, we won the war. That is why she let me come back. That is why she let me go."

Her voice was so raspy and devoid of emotion Neji twitched. Her pink hair had grown so long it stretched past her collarbones, her face had changed into that of a mature woman. She had almost regal features, a narrow nose and high cheek bones. She had this air of royalty and cold, hard brilliance. She looked different. He could actually picture her wearing a harness, he could picture her roaring orders to an army, he could picture her as a Captain Commander.

"I see. I am happy you did." He said with a pained look on his face. Change is not always a good thing, but it might be unavoidable. It might be necessary, he thought.

"I have enjoyed your company for these past months, Neji. Unfortunately, I will be on a lot of missions from now on. All you need to know is that I have come to appreciate our friendship deeply." Sakura smiled. This time she smiled with those hard diamond eyes, not that fake grin she had worn before, but she smiled with sapphires in her eyes. And it was such a knowing smile, so old and he didn't know diamonds could produce warmth.

"What are you saying, Sakura?" He asked, fidgeting in his seat. He didn't like where this was going, but he had to ask.

"For some months ahead, I won't have the time to meet you and Shika much." She explained, as if to a child. He didn't enjoy that condescending tone.

"Will you tell me your real reason, Sakura?" He asked, his opalescent eyes grazing her form.

"Perhaps in due time, Neji." She beamed again and he felt that muscle behind his ribcage protest.

"I am not particularly fond of farewells." The pinkette confessed and looked down at her scarred hand. The pink hair fell in front of her eyes, as if shielding her.

"So please, don't say good bye when you walk away." The Haruno frowned, but quirked her lips into a soft smile. Neji wrinkled his nose as he regarded her with opalescent eyes.

"That was the definition of cliché." He stated and Sakura chuckled, saying 'I know'. It did none the matter make it less true to her.

Neji rose from the chair and looked a long time at the katana. To him, it seemed like Izanami was mocking him; he couldn't touch the demon blade and he couldn't burn it. He shrugged his shoulders, then tilted his head and smirked at the changed girl in the hospital bed.

"Until next time, Sakura."

* * *

><p><em>The Powerful Alcoholic Senju Tsunade<em>

"Now, that we have finished the business of the start of a trust alliance with Sunagakure, _again_, I'm announcing the dismissal of my current apprentice Haruno Sakura." Tsunade declared to the Council members at the meeting table. Some whispers were heard, murmurs amongst the older members.

"May I ask why that is so, Godaime-sama?" One Council member asked, confusion visible in her withered wrinkly features.

"She's always questioning my authority nowadays; saying I'm too 'soft'. She believes that to protect Konoha, more severe punishments needs to be handed out to set examples of disloyalty."

"Questioning authority is never a good thing." The Council woman agreed, nodding. Another Council member at the far end of the long table cleared his throat.

"Why is it that she sees more severe punishments as a way to protect Konoha?" He asked with wrinkled eyes.  
>"She says that to set an example, on par to that of missing Konoha nin, the shinobi of our village will look at it and see that there is always consequences to ones actions and that betraying Konohagakure is the equivalent to paying the defection with ones life." Tsunade sighed heavily.<p>

"Was it not her former teammate that abandoned Konoha two years ago? Would she still say the same for him?" A grey haired council member asked the Godaime, raising agreeing murmurs.

"Yes, Uchiha Sasuke did, and she told me once that she can't forgive him no matter what. She thinks his punishment should be public execution in Konoha. Can you believe that girl? She's changed so much since I took her on. I can't handle her anymore." The Godaime huffed exasperatedly.

"I see. That is troublesome. I heard she's accepting A-ranked missions now, even though she's only fifteen." One of the Elders commented, seemingly knowing of the Haruno. Tsunade was a bit perplexed by this, apparently the Haruno had started to make a name for herself.

"Yes, and I know that she has mastered Medical Ninjutsu to a very high level, but she has abandoned it for that cursed sword and the position of a fighter. Such a _fool_." Tsunade spat with disgust. Danzō's eye slid to Tsunade's hunched form and there was a light of interest in his expression. Tsunade silently sang a victory song in her head as she scowled on the outside. One of the Elders coughed and looked at Tsunade with a slight frown.

"Indeed, it is foolish. But I have heard she has come to challenge that kid Rock Lee in the physical department, and her taijutsu skills are exquisite. I also happen to know she has perfect chakra control which is very unusual amongst shinobi. And that sword you were talking about; I saw her on the training grounds three days ago, doing katas with her katana. I couldn't even see her move, but suddenly five iron bars that hung from two trees had been sliced into a hundred parts. The sword seems to fit very well in her hands. She might prove to be very useful for Konoha's benefit." The Elder concluded, then coughed again.

"That might be so. But she's just gotten so cold! So emotionless. I have to dismiss her as my disciple. I can't stand her anymore. She's not the sweet little girl I once knew." Tsunade almost wailed and thumped her fist hard against the table so it shook violently. The Council members shivered almost in unison in awe of her anger.

"Then you should take on someone else. Maybe the daughter of Yamanaka Inoichi? I hear she's gotten promoted to the position of Doctor in Konoha General Hospital." One of the Council members suggested and Tsunade's eyes widened. She hadn't even thought about that, and it was a good idea, but when she was about to answer one dark voice interrupted her.

"What are we to do about Haruno Sakura, then?" Shimura Danzō uttered his first sentence for the whole of that meeting. Eyes went to him and some looked down because of the weight of his authoritative voice.

"I don't care. Send her on missions or something." Tsunade sighed and slumped back into her chair.

"I see." Danzō said, retreating politely. "That will be taken care of."

Tsunade's cheeks almost flustered but she bit it down. The start of Sakura's plan had been set in motion, but Tsunade was not yet sure if she had made the right decision to help her with it.

* * *

><p><em>The Man Without a Name<em>

The man without a name stood at the door leading to a large spacious room in the hidden headquarters below ground. It was the entrance ceremony to be a part of Root; three shinobi Danzō himself had approached and suggested that they were to give their lives to the protection of Konoha. He had approached four, but only three shinobi had conceded to his suggestion. The fourth shinobi no longer breathed, he knew. The man without a name was supposed to act as a guard, as well as a third perspective to the entrance ceremony and lastly to avert any escapees.

The proctor for the ceremony stood in front of the three recruits, donning a white ANBU mask likened to an owl in its painted swirling lines. The owl masked proctor was tall and slender, his clothes grey and black. The three recruits had blank masks covering their features, clothed in black turtle neck tops and beige hakamas. They were allowed no weapons and had been put under chakra restraining seals. He noted that one of them was a woman, which was unusual for a recruit. Danzō must have had a special reason for recruiting that one, the nameless man absentmindedly thought. The two other male recruits were tall and broad shouldered, impressive muscles were seen through the tight fabric of the black top. In their stance, they seemed experienced and collected. Compared to the petite woman who stood rather casually, they towered over her like two giants.

"These three newest recruits has shown to have abundant potential and they have sworn to us that they are all willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater cause of Root. We appreciate your devotion to our section and thank you for joining this ceremonial trial."

The proctor's voice echoed in the large room, leaving silence and low heart beats behind. He knew that behind the see through screens of the opposite side of the room, there was Danzō and several other Root-devoted ANBU captains watching.

"However, only _one_ of you will pass through that door." The owl-masked proctor waved to the door besides the see through screen and then walked out, brushing past the nameless man with a polite nod.

He knew what was going to happen in the next few moments; either they would be baffled as they realised the implication and try to negotiate with the now disappeared proctor... Or they would start about now to kill each other. The nameless man's eyes darted to the three recruits as he heard a snap. What he saw was that the kunoichi had somehow gotten behind one of the recruits, her hands pressed around his head and she had snapped his neck in one swift movement, leaving the man's head lolling for a bit before falling to the ground; he knew that the strength behind the force to snap a neck was not to be taken lightly. When the man slumped to the floor mat, the kunoichi was fast to duck and roll away underneath the high kick aimed at her head from the other male shinobi.

The man without a name watched in what one could almost call interest as the two battled in hand-to-hand combat. The kunoichi seemed to not have any kind of traditional martial arts school behind her attacks; it just seemed primitive and instinctive, every strike and movement and evasive technique. However sloppy it seemed, she was calculated and agile. The male shinobi who was probably a bit older had a distinguished style of wushu, aikido and a certain martial art deriving from Water Country which made him swift as water and every strike as hard as a tsunami's destructive force.

The man landed a strike in the side of the woman and she grunted as she stepped back several feet, he guessed the strike had made disturbing reverberations to her intestines and disrupting the flow of the blood stream in her body. The man saw his opportunity and ran up to her for the finish. The woman wobbled and fell to the ground as he swung at her and then he was suddenly kicked up high in the air with a cough of blood; the kunoichi had pretended to fall, to make him attack mindlessly and victory already in his mind, and had kicked him in the stomach from her lying position on the mat. The nameless man looked on emotionlessly.

The kunoichi jumped up and in a flash, it was fast for a new recruit he admitted, she kicked him down to the mat with the back of her feet while he still was in the air. There was too much strength in her kicks, so when he plummeted down the mat crumpled from the force of it, almost making cracks in the wooden floor underneath the mats. The man coughed blood and the nameless man determined a broken rib must have punctured his lung, or something else inside his stomach must have taken damage. The male recruit tried to move up, but the pain overwhelmed him and he sank down again with a grunt, trying to regulate his breathing. But it was difficult since his mouth was full of blood.

Then, as gracious as a feline, she moved to stand besides his sprawled retching body. She gently put her foot on his heaving throat. And then she crushed it. With a gurgle and blood splatter sound, he died, her foot still engraved in the gory mess left of his throat. The man without a name, being the closest to the scene, heard her say something which was muffled by the mask, but it was still audible enough to make him feel something like coldness graze his skin. But he had heard it and in some way it made him wonder what she counted as he with blank eyes stared at the goose bumps on his arm.

The silence was overwhelming. With a jerk of her foot, she shook it a bit to get away some of the tendons and blood from her shoe. The woman then wandered right to the screen on the opposite side of the room. With every step, there was a little splash sound coming from her right shoe. _Thump, splish, thump, splish._

When she stood right in front of the screen, of which she shouldn't know that Danzō and the captains stood behind since the see through screen was only such from the other side, she could only see a simple beige screen. She bowed down to a sitting position and in doing so she showed submission and respect. She waited. Blood ran in currents down her blank mask.

The sound of clapping hands, applause of some sort, was heard behind the screen. It was a slow clapping, as if dragging it out. The screen was swiftly slid to the right, revealing several men standing stiffly in front of her. The one clapping was a tall white haired ANBU captain, who leaned casually at the doorway.

"Welcome to Root." The white haired ANBU captain said and smirked with empty violet eyes. The nameless man knew him as Fuyu, a man recognised for his bloodlust and overly violent ways with enemies. Danzō stood in the middle, his bandaged head looking down on the kunoichi. The kunoichi's facial expressions was hidden behind the mask as well as her hair. None knew who she was.

The war veteran and leader of Root walked to her submissive form and stood only a feet away from her. She didn't look up from the ground. In a quick movement, he ripped the mask away from her face so it bounced on the floor some meters away, revealing flushed cheeks, luscious lips and verdant adrenaline pumped and pale eyes. The man without a name recognised the adjectives he had used to describe her in his head and supposed most men would call her attractive. Her eyes seemed to almost bore a hole wherever she looked. Compared to his fellow Root members, her face was an open book. Though an open book in another language, and he only knew a few words of that language.

"When the blank mask is removed, your face is no longer expressionless. That is where your fault is."

"I am sorry it is so, sir." She said and looked directly into Danzō's eye, unwavering. The man nodded and produced two pills from his pocket which he held in his left hand in front of her. With a blank stare she took in the weight of those two pills; knowledge visible in her emerald eyes. He almost flinched at this; she just showed too much. As if she was naked, completely bare, she leaked her emotions freely all over her face.

"To show your devotion you will choose one of these pills. If you want to live, choose the red pill. If you are prepared to die, choose the green pill. If none - then leave."

The flushed girl with burning eyes didn't as much as frown when the man uttered the words of her fate, and she stretched out her hand directly as if the answer was obvious. The nameless man watched as she gulped down both of the pills and swallowed hard, gaping her mouth open so Danzō could check she had swallowed. Danzō's eye widened ever so slightly, one wouldn't have noticed it if not perceptive to emotion, as the nameless man was an expert in. He was very able to distinguish the movement of facial muscles, but he could not define the emotion in Danzō's eye.

"Not following orders already, I see. I said to choose one. Why did you take both?" His eye squinted at her, taking in every twitch of her expression. The men behind the screen flinched and some shivered; Danzō was a fearful man. That girl had disobeyed him.

"I want to live so I can die for Konohagakure's sake." She answered simply as she started breathing harder, sweat producing on her forehead. The pills effect seemed to have settled in her system already.

"I see." Danzō said as he walked back to the screen, to every Root member's astonishment in the room, as Danzō turned away from her sweating form. "It would seem that you will be paralysed within a few minutes. The effect of the red pill is deadly but the green pill will heal the damage done to your insides. Probably. You are the first to have chosen both pills, so I am not too sure of the repercussions of your choice. It is yours to deal with. Meet me tomorrow morning in my office at seven o'clock - if you survive the night."

The girl could not answer him as she had gone into seizures, shaking uncontrollably and her eyes rolled back as she fell to the floor with a thump. The man without a name watched the pain convulse in her body and she couldn't scream because the shaking prevented her. Fuyu, the ANBU captain, looked with violet eyed disgust at the kunoichi. He knew that emotion.

"Someone bring her to a bedroom. No medical attention to her is allowed." He said as he flipped a white strand out of his face and turned around to walk out of the ceremony room. The man without a name didn't think, he just walked up to the shaking girl and slung her over his shoulder in one easy movement. He didn't know why he did it, he just acted. The girl shook so violently on his shoulder he had to steady her with his hand. When he did, he felt something slick at her side. Blood ran down his fingers when he pressed her to his shoulder so she wouldn't fall off. That strike the male recruit had done to her side had been much worse than anyone could have imagined, he concluded.

The nameless man walked to a vacant bedroom a few dimly lit corridors away with the convulsing girl on his shoulder, and laid the kunoichi down on the simple bed. The black bandana covering her head strained at her shaking, so he removed it and as he did he was slightly baffled at the colour of her hair, which fell in cascades around her petite face. It was the colour of a pink sunset. He only laid the bandana on the floor and didn't think more of it as he went to the bathroom to wash the blood away on his hands. His eyes seemed to wander back to the kunoichi, whenever he wasn't aware while he washed his hands in cold water. The blood in the wash bin cleared away, only leaving pink trails of water behind on the white porcelain.

He couldn't help himself as he went back to her still shaking form. He reached for her turtle neck top and tucked it up to under her chest, revealing an inflamed and bruised wound oozing blood under her ribs, to the right from her stomach. The bed sheet was soaked in a matter of seconds. He knew that none else had noticed her wound, since she had acted as if she was unhurt and free of wounds. And she had been so casual, so cold and she had bowed down to Danzō - as if that hadn't worsened the blood flow of the wound at her side. He found himself looking for something to stop the red liquid flow, and he took the pillow at her head and ripped the sheet off of it. He bandaged the wound after having poured some alcohol over it so it wouldn't get infected, and when he was finished with the basic treatment he dragged her turtle neck top down over the wound, hiding it.

The girl's eyes were lolling around, sweat pouring down her creamy complexion, her breathing hitched, her teeth clattering - and he knew that there was a certain possibility that she would bite her own tongue off and drown in blood with those seizures. He took and folded her bandana, opened her mouth with little difficulty and stuffed it inside. She bit the bandana so hard in her shaking form, he wondered if she would be able to chew through the fabric material during the night. Blood started to seep out from one of her nostrils, trailing down to the bandana in her mouth. He quickly bound a part of the sheet around her form, fastened her to the bed so she wouldn't hurt herself while shaking. Blood from her ears started to seep down on the mattress. But the nameless man couldn't do more for her and she confused him, so he left her after pouring a glass of water and putting it beside the bed.

Then he disappeared in the dim light of the corridor.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

Hi guys!

A little darker chapter, this one. I rushed this chapter because I loved to write it, so there might be a ton of spelling mistakes or grammar errors. Please note me if you find any.

What do you guys think; is change a good or bad thing? Or is it more to it than a simple _yes_ or _no_?

xx fascalia


	6. Black Tortoise

**Transition**

Sakura is perceived from the perspectives of others as she changes during the years into something else entirely. The people near her follows her transition closely and when she starts abandoning everything she held dear - she gets closer and closer to her goal.  
>Non-Canon, Sakura-centric

Chapter 6

Through the Eyes of a Man of Shadows, a Powerful Alcoholic

and a Merchant

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><p><em>The Man of Shadows <em>_Shimura Danzō_

He was almost shocked when he heard a knock on his office door at seven in the morning, but then he quickly gathered the reports he had been reading into a neat pile. The kunoichi staggered inside his office, her hair was ruffled and there was a lot of dried blood on her face; probably coming from her nose, eyes and mouth. He also saw coagulated blood on the inside of her ears. It seemed like she had climbed out of bed without showering since she wore the same clothes she had donned the day before, probably too weakened to be able to do the actions necessary to freshen up. Her bleary, pale green eyes were heavily blood shot and a few droplets of red liquid was still in the corners of her eyes. It made the green colour in her eyes stronger and contrasting even more, making them lush and ever seeing.

"I am sorry for my misshapen appearance, Danzō-sama." She bowed her head weakly and then straightened. Her posture was strong, as if fighting her body's state with her mind and sheer will power.

"It is none the matter. You look livelier than the shinobi who chose the red pill. Sit." He commented, then looked down on her file he had in front of him, as well as her contract. He gave her a pencil which she accepted with shaking fingers as she sat down on the chair in front of his desk.

"You cannot be a part of Root." He said, mayhaps only to see her reaction. Her green eyes discerned him coldly. She didn't protest, she didn't beg for her life, she didn't ask him why.

"I see." She said, and only that. Her strong posture had not changed, even while sitting. Danzō almost smirked, but he didn't, and then locked his eye with hers.

"You cannot be a part of Root because you are not emotionless, as all else of our members are supposed to be. And that is where emotions called determination and devotion is a fact and doesn't exist within Root; but it can be used to Root's advantage in you. That also means you are not to act as the pawn of Root, and you are not yet expendable. Also, you will not receive a cursed seal since the shinobi of ANBU will recognise it and it would be most inconspicuous."

"Yes."

"You are to succeed in the ANBU test qualifications, get appointed ANBU by the Hokage and then you will act as an ANBU operative; I duly believe you will rise in the ranks. The Root-devoted ANBU captains will be our communication. You will give me information of what you have learned on every mission. Missions will be your life now. You are still young, so we will have training sessions here whenever you are not on a mission. Mostly you will have superior Root-members train you, but I might occasionally give you a lesson as well when I see fit. Understood?"

"Yes, Danzō-sama."

"I will appeal to the Hokage to try to make her appoint you as ANBU. I heard that you two had an argument so it might prove to be a difficult task."

"Yes. Our views on how to protect the village was... different." Her blank expression was almost that of a Root member when she talked about the Godaime - expressionless, free of all emotion. This almost intrigued the man of shadows.

"How come?" Danzō inquired, leaning over his desk with his left hand supporting his head.  
>"She's too soft." The kunoichi stated, and he noticed that her eyes had stopped bleeding and were plainly blank. Danzō tilted his head a bit, taking in her appearance and words. He didn't say any more and only gave her the contract for her to sign. She did and wrote her signature with trembling hands; seemingly an after effect of the intake of two pills.<p>

"Get rid of the shaking until next time. Dismissed." He commanded and took the paper from her hands as he turned away from her. It was a chakra infused contract which didn't allow her to talk about himself or of Root to others; in case she did, he would know in seconds. In the corner of his eye he saw the kunoichi nod and then she limped out of his office, closing the door gently.

He huffed, since he was alone he allowed himself to do so, and put the contract in an archive file map marked with a pink note. He didn't find her fitting yet, but when she had swallowed both pills only to gain his trust and for the sake of Konohagakure... He wondered if she even feared death. Truly, what fool would swallow two pills given to her, when the origin of those pills were unknown? And all she did was trust the man giving them to her.

But that determination, iron will and devotion; he liked that. She would prove to be a very useful pawn if she could follow his guide lines. However, he had difficulty with the fact that she questioned authority. For the moment he found it a highly positive trait since she reckoned the current Hokage to be at fault; but what if he succeeded in becoming Hokage and she started to question him? He decided that for the moment, she would prove to be useful. But when the time would come, for it _would_ come, for his succession of the Hokage title - he would make sure she swallowed the red pill only.

* * *

><p><em>The Abandoned Boy Uchiha Sasuke<em>

The underground hideout was dark, with not many candles adorning the walls. Orochimaru had an experiment going on with Kabuto, so he had let the Uchiha boy rest at the moment. They had been training constantly for the past week and Sasuke felt how his muscles had been shredded and now was growing even stronger. He had learnt many useful jutsus as well, there amongst a few genjutsus which were easy for him to cast with the sharingan activated. Over all, he was almost content with their training schedules. But he craved more. He needed to be more powerful, more cold, more calculated. To hate his brother even more, to deepen the emotion of revenge in his heart.

He regarded the sharp blade of his recently accepted gift from Orochimaru, balancing it on the tip of his index finger. It was a strange sword which he decided to call Kusanagi. He enjoyed the weight of it in his hands as he let it slide into the palm of his hand and gripped it. When he angled the blade a reflection of his black eyes stared back at him in the dimly lit room. He found not many emotions in those black eyes, but they reminded him.

Reminded him of his past, team seven - a lazy teacher and a blond idiot and an annoying girl. When he remembered those useless teammates he had to close his eyes. They had such preconceived ideas about him. As if he was actually a part of their team; but they had simply been means of him getting stronger, simple stepping stones. They no longer mattered, they never even had. They had turned out to just hold him back and now finally, he could find the strength needed for his revenge. He found no solace in their efforts to bring him back. His place was not in Konoha. His place was nowhere.

His place would have been death, if not on the whim of his brother. He sometimes wondered if his fate as the sole survivor of the massacre had been the better option. The angst still terrorised his dreams, the image of the bodies of his parents lying on the floor so cold, so cold haunted him, always. His brother's eyes blaring red in the moon light. His hands bloodied. That night haunted his nightmares ever so often that he found he almost couldn't remember his mother's smiling face anymore. It had withered away and in its place was her pale blank face and her slumped form.

All he saw nowadays was those cursed red eyes. And he could never look away.

* * *

><p><em>The Powerful Alcoholic Senju Tsunade<em>

"Well, I can't just appoint you ANBU. That would only seem suspicious. You need to prove yourself somehow... What about a S-rank mission?" Tsunade scratched the back of her blond hair, biting her lower lip. The kunoichi sitting in front of her in the Hokage's Office frowned.

"Tsunade-sama. I've only been assigned to one A-class mission, a S-class is..."

"That would make it all the better, wouldn't it? It will be dangerous though. Lots and lots of soldier pills." Tsunade said and then her eyes widened in recollection. "Oh. Hey, you know what I found yesterday? A really old scroll! I'll give it to you. It's an animal summoning scroll, and I know you don't have one! See it as an early birthday gift or something. Found it in that dusty old library the other day. Kitsune said she didn't know what kind of animal summoning it was though. Guess you'll just have to find out."

"Tsunade-sama. I am most grateful." Sakura bowed her head and earned a hard thump on it with Tsunade's fist. Surprised eyes looked up through pink hair, caressing her head gently as she questioned the Hokage.

"Damn, do you have a stick up your ass, girl? Seems like Danzō is rubbing off on you. When we're alone, call me Tsunade. At least you deserve that much." The Godaime scolded the pink haired kunoichi and sniffed.

"Just Tsunade, then. Thank you." Sakura smiled and that matured face of hers almost put the Godaime off. How could a coma induced sleep change a person so much? How could she look like she knew the secrets of the universe? Tsunade recognised eyes like that. She had seen them in Danzō, a war veteran, and she didn't know what to make of it.

"You're welcome, Pinky. So, you're going to take on a solo S-class mission-" Tsunade was cut off short-sentence by the pink haired girl.

"Solo?" She commented, green eyes gleaming. Paling.

"Yes, otherwise you wouldn't stick out! You need to prove yourself. Let the world see you are an excellent shinobi of Konoha. Make missing nin fear you. That way, it'll be less suspicious of me to appoint you ANBU two weeks from now." Tsunade grinned.

"I see your point. I will, Tsunade." Sakura's eyes glinted mischievously and the Godaime rolled her eyes. The Haruno really had changed since the coma.

"Good. Now where did I put Kameosa..." The busty blond mumbled and started searching around on her desk, the papers covered almost all of the space. Sakura sighed with amused eyes grazing the Hokage's form.

"It's in your desk drawer." She pointed out and Tsunade squealed with joy as she found it.

"Ah, there you are my lovely haunted jar of love. So, the S-class mission. I'll talk to the administration and search some piles of requests. I'll call for you tomorrow morning and then you'll be set up with the information detail. Yeah?" Tsunade stated and sipped from the saké bottle. Warmth rushed directly to her cheeks and she squirmed with comfort.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow, Tsunade." Her former apprentice smiled and was about to heave herself up from the chair. The Godaime jerked her head, she recalled her gift, her hands waving around.

"Hup hup-a. Wait, the scroll, the scroll. Oh, found it. Here." Tsunade cheered and gave the puzzled Haruno a withered scroll from the pile of scrolls on her desk. Dust flew everywhere.

"It's ancient. And is that a drawing of a... turtle?" Sakura sneezed as dust came into her nose. Tsunade chuckled in amusement.

"Yes, but the old ones are usually quite powerful. Try to get accustomed to it tonight. Say hello to them. And also, remember this one thing: be extremely polite. The old ones take traditional politeness very seriously. And all that crap."

"I'll keep that in mind. Goodnight!" Sakura smirked and put the ancient scroll in her backpack, then swiftly rose from her chair.

"Sweet dreams, Pinky."

The girl snorted at the Godaime's last sentence and walked out of the office.

* * *

><p><em>The Fox Boy Uzumaki Naruto<em>

They were in a village in the Mist to train Naruto's senses in the fog, but the day had gone by without the Sannin in sight and Naruto having several empty instant noodles at his side. Naruto had stalkingly left the training area in the rocky forest and started to search for his sensei. When he had found him peeking on the women's outdoor baths Naruto had almost imploded. The Sannin had hushed him to not make them seen by the naked women. Naruto shut his mouth unwillingly, but he had heard of the strength of Mizu no Kuni women; they were not to be in contact with. Sensei said it was inspirational research for the next book in his series 'the Nightingale of the Waters'.

Naruto grumpily sat down but couldn't resist a peek at the women. He could use it as research to better improve his Sexy-no-jutsu, he convinced himself. He winced when he thought of how Sakura-chan would react if knew about this; she would most certainly kill him. There were about ten women in the outdoor baths, most wearing robes or towels to hide their treasures. One woman was about to slide into the water and in the process she left the towel at the pool side. Naruto gasped while blushing red. That startled the women in the bath and eyes went to the bush they were hiding in. A few seconds went by, like a ticking bomb.

Chased out of the village with Naruto having one fractured arm and Jiraya having several bruises on his face, they scrambled off to another village four miles away. It was plain luck they hadn't died that day. Naruto saw something pointing out of his sensei's back and when he mentioned it, Jiraya tried to see over his shoulder. Unbelievably enough, a soap was actually stuck in the older man's shoulder blade. Blood flowed freely and Jiraya would have passed out if he hadn't broken into a fit of laughter. Mizu no Kuni women would never be messed with again.

After that Jiraya seemed to have been reminded of his apprentice and started training for real. During one training session in the forest Naruto saw a rabbit near the tree he perched on. The rabbit's innocent and frightened eyes darted around the forest, trying to identify the sound of leaves rustling. Naruto looked at the rabbit with a pained expression. It kind of reminded him of his pink haired teammate. He wondered in silence how she coped in Konoha.

Then Jiraya flung a sizzling blue Rasengan at him and he had no time to ponder further about it and leapt off the tree branch. The tree exploded as the raw force of the Rasengan imploded on it. As Naruto ran away to create a few kagebunshins, he didn't see the rabbit lying crumbled in the splinters of the exploded tree. The innocence and fear was gone from its eyes since it could no longer see the world.

* * *

><p><em>The Flourishing Merchant Ukeno Tajima <em>

He was outside his shop one day, drinking his black coffee in the early morning sun light. It was very still on the streets and Tajima was at peace with himself for a change. It was one of those mornings that told of a wonderful and abundant day, with no mischief and no devil's knocking on doors. He smiled into his coffee cup and took a sip of the black gold, and when he looked up to the street she was there.

The coffee squirted out from his nose.

A sleek weapon hung on her back, it looked like a tanto but he knew it too well to be mistaken; it was a katana. That cursed katana. Her long pink hair swirled away in the wind, leaving her face bare in its creamy skin tone and heart shaped features. Her eyes were unmistakably green and piercing. The black turtle neck top clung to her form tightly, revealing slightly a hour glass figure. The black top left her arms bare and her right arm was bandaged, and the woman's Konoha forehead protector hung from her neck. The black tight pants she wore was adorned with kunai pockets and medical field kit pockets on each thigh. She had a large moss green backpack slung casually over her right shoulder. And she still wore those ridiculous hand cuffs - whichever function they filled they were an abomination to good fashion sense. He coughed up the rest of his coffee.

"Y-you!" He stammered and accusingly looked at the morning sun. Why had it let him think it would actually be a good day?

All he remembered was white eyes and blood of the escort mission day so many weeks ago. The Konohagakure shinobi had left him with all those corpses and he had been awakened by a scavenger bird, pecking at his skin.

He recalled when she had stopped by his shop for the first time. He had sent his guards after her, even without hearing what she had to say. That day she had killed all of the guards he sent after her with her bare hands; crushing their skulls and with a punch to their bodies they collapsed in broken bones and destroyed internal organs. After that, no guard dared listen to his command to continue. That is where the fault lay in hiring mercenaries; if it wasn't worth the money, it wasn't worth doing. That day, all she had asked about was the katana he had lost to them. Izanami, it was called. But Tajima knew nothing of it.

She had then come to him ever so often since, buying weapons, scrolls and medical equipments in his shinobi part of his trade business. He had had to further develop the shinobi section only for her sake, so she wouldn't be displeased with his supplies.

"Hello, Tajima-san. Is that how you greet an old friend?" The woman smirked and eased her way to him, so silently and elegant he almost snorted. She was such a contradicting human being; so beautiful and graceful and yet she was his worst nightmare.

"What do you want, Cherry?" Tajima huffed, his face slightly tinted red. The pink haired devil laughed lightly, tingling softly in his ears. She seemed to have gotten used to his new nickname. The last one he had called her; 'Pink Haired Banshee' had made her eyes pale, almost turning white.

"I'm going on a little mission visit to Snow Country. So I need a snow specialised weapon's arsenal, because some weapons freeze and doesn't function normally in cold weather. And well, I need quite a few other special weapons. I brought a list, just for you." She smiled ever so prettily and showed him glinting sapphire like eyes. He gulped, but then frowned and turned away from her.

"I see. Come then. When was it that you decided for me to be your personal shopping bag again?" Tajima grumbled as he gallantly walked inside his shop, which on the outside sold women's underwear but was in actuality a illegal weapon's shop. It was not one of his more successful businesses since he hadn't started the marketing yet in underground circuits. But none the matter; the pink haired woman was his most regular customer.

"I think it's our anniversary tomorrow, actually. Three months! Oh, can you believe it's been so long." The woman cooed and followed behind him. Tajima sniffed and took a deep breath; he wouldn't let her see his fear. He'd never let her.

When they went past the guards, a few heavily locked metal doors and through chakra enhanced passwords he found himself in the weaponry storage. The pink haired banshee's green eyes grew bigger with anticipation and she looked around for a bit. Then she found a sword on a counter, a sleek and short old sword. Tajima watched her, waiting. The sword she was studying had been in his shop for years, since it was so old none wanted to buy it. It was so withered, yet it had been polished and balms had been carefully inserted into the sword. A few shinobi a hundred years ago had put a little amount of chakra into it; too keep it from rusting and falling apart. Almost none even knew what it was as well, except for him. It was a nihonto from a thousand years ago - he had learned this fact from the ancient swordsman who had sold it to him.

"Oh! Such a cute wakizashi." The pinkette looked lovingly at the sword. She was correct.

Tajima's eyes widened and tried to grasp the fact that she knew what a thousands of years old sword was called. She must be knowledgeable, he mused with a frown. But how?

"How do you know, Cherry? It's thousands of years old. You shouldn't know what it was once called." He commented, watching her reaction warily.

"Oh, is it? I didn't know. I once wielded a wakizashi. It's really convenient to hide in your boot." She cheered and put it back. Tajima frowned again and wondered where else in the world she had gotten her hands on a wakizashi, since they were long gone because of a law against wakizashi a few hundred years ago. They had been banned and destroyed because of the fear for annihilation of the Daimyos; except for this one.

The pink haired banshee seemed to remember why she was there and gave him a quite long paper note with a smirk. He accepted it and started reading.

"This is my shopping list. I need everything to be ready by noon tomorrow." She said and patted his back gently.

Tajima's breath came in short gasps. What-

"W-what are you going to do? This list is... Are you planning on the obliteration of a whole fucking country?" He sputtered.

"Perhaps. Who knows? You know I can't tell you, Tajima honey. Classified and stuff."

"B-but... The sheer amount of paper bombs, heavy explosives, swords, kunais, shields, senbon and a... a sledge hammer? And two battle axes?" Tajima read loudly and whimpered, wrinkling the paper in his hands. She was going to start a war or something and he would be her accomplice in it. He gave a small cry of indignation and waved with his hand helplessly.

"Are you serious, Cherry? You can't start a war on your own. You can't." He wailed and thumped his head against the counter, again and again.  
>"A war? Who said I was going to start one?" She grinned and ruffled her long pink hair. Tajima stopped banging his head against the counter since it started to hurt and he looked up at the white eyed devil woman. Her emerald eyes glinted like diamonds in the dim light of the weaponry storage. Lucky for him, they weren't white at the moment. But they were dangerously pale.<p>

"I expect the items to be ready by tomorrow. Do not disappoint me, Tajima-san." Her eyes gleamed and her voice was filled to the brink of ice cold hardness. Tajima couldn't say anything, he couldn't move. The woman started to make her way out of the shop with a waving hand in a farewell and he heard her say 'bye-bye', not looking back. Tajima scrambled after her and when he got out of the women's underwear shop and out on the street, he saw her in a not so far distance. And what he saw made his mouth hang open in a highly unattractive way.

She had summoned a ridiculously big animal. And in a moment, Tajima wondered if they were under attack. But he saw nothing. Who summoned a huge animal just to... _talk_? And she was conversing with the largest tortoise Tajima had ever seen. It was black in its withered strong skin and hard shell, all he saw was the moving back of it, but he could see the old dried blood stains flecking the black shell in patterns. He knew what animal summoning it was and he fell to his knees on the sandy soil of the street in fear and resignation. Why was he even surprised anymore?

That Haruno Sakura had gained the animal summoning _Genbu_, the Fourth King of the North. The one of the most powerful heavenly animals; since Genbu had been a God once. He had been called the Dark Warrior and was known for his warfare, blood thirst and proficiency with handling as well as dealing death.

And in a moment of slight insanity, Tajima thought they made the perfect pair. They maybe even matched each others blood lust, the pink haired woman and the black tortoise of war. He heard the Haruno giggle beautifully at something the large turtle had said as they walked besides each other, and her quick response apparently made the Fourth King Genbu laugh. The turtle's rumbling laugh created vibrations on the ground akin to a light earthquake and Tajima wobbled on his knees.

The merchant stood up and scampered off inside to the safety of his shop. He needed to get going right away; the amount of weapons and the specially ordered sledge hammer and two battle axes would take some time to get his hands on and he would need to call on a few favours. But he would. Because no fate for him would be worse than that of a 'disappointed' pink haired banshee.

The next day he had gathered everything but he was exhausted. He hadn't slept a wink through the entire night and had worked on getting everything in place. The explosives were safely sealed in scrolls and the sledge hammer had just arrived. At noon, a knock was heard on the door to his large office, as he sat gulping his fifteenth cup of coffee behind his office desk. He called for her to come in, and she opened the door and bounced inside, pink hair swirling behind her. The excitement in her eyes were hard to miss.

"Tajima-san! Such a beautiful day today. A perfect day for the trade of swords." She chirped and settled in a chair in front of Tajima's desk. Tajima gulped again and gave her the note of the payment. The pink haired kunoichi glanced at the sum of money and produced a large bag and threw it on the desk. The bag opened itself by the sheer force and spilled golden coins on the table. It was by far enough to cover the expenses of her requested weapons. By far.

"You and I both know that is too much, Cherry." He mumbled as he stared at the golden coins on his desk, glinting in the sunlight from the window.

"You've been very hospitable, so I wanted to give you my thanks. You didn't even wet your pants when you saw Izanami this time!" She cheered, and he gave her a sour look.

"Please don't bring that up again." He coughed and was reminded of his gift.

"We're celebrating our trade companionship anniversary today, Cherry. So I have an anniversary gift for you." Tajima said as he slowly went up to his drawer and started searching. He heard a little delighted gasp from behind him.

"How lovely!" The Haruno chirped and clapped her hands. In a flash, she stood besides him, peeking over his shoulder. He jerked back. Unpredictable banshee, he thought grumpily. Then he found it.

"Here. Yesterday, I saw that you have succeeded in the animal summoning of the black tortoise Genbu, the Dark Warrior. So, since you were able to summon _him_, this might bring you some more delight." Tajima offered the ancient, withered scroll to her expecting hands. None could summon the animal inside the scroll. Most who had tried had died in flames, so none wanted anything to do with it. No matter how hard he had tried to sell it.

Tajima, somehow, knew she would probably be able to summon the heavenly animal. Or if not, she'd die in flames and the problem of a pink haired banshee would be solved. It was just a gut feeling really, that she'd be able to summon it, but he wanted her on his side. If he gave her something of her interest she might not kill him. Even... protect him if needed, perhaps. He hoped.

"A bird? Oh, how interesting!" Sakura gladly accepted the scroll and studied it with piercing green eyes.

"Now, we have finished celebrating. Let's go get some containment scrolls and seal all of this fucking war arsenal." Tajima sniffed and walked elegantly to the storage room, with the pink haired banshee following him.

When they were done, Tajima went to see her off. The streets were quite vacant of people and Tajima was reminded that there was a festival at the center of the town. When the Haruno picked up her backpack, which was full of scrolls, she cracked her joints and drew forth a map. Looking at it for a few seconds, she put it back into her pocket.

"Tajima-san. Thank you for the scroll. I will further study it and summon the birdie later. And here's my anniversary gift, by the way. It was the best I could think of, short notice and all." She reached out her hand and gave him a piece of paper she had produced from her pocket. Tajima took it, read the written words and his eyes bulged, then he smiled and looked up at her. But she was already gone, in the whirl of the wind.

The piece of paper told him that she owed him one favour. Be that as it may as an escort, protection, information gathering or assassination. She would do anything. She might be a pink haired banshee, he thought, but she was also a just girl who didn't like to owe anyone anything. And this time, it proved to be of his advantage. He knew giving the scroll was a good idea.

Tajima then went back to his sleeping quarters and slept for a whole day. This time, he had no nightmares.

* * *

><p><em>The Martyr Uchiha Itachi<em>

The freezing winds and the snow covered grounds did not appeal to him at all. It was a hassle, not that he had a problem sprinting on the snow with chakra enhanced feet to make it solid, but all the same. Snow was annoying. His cloak got caught in the wind and rippled like ocean waves, blurring the image of the red clouds on the black fabric.

"Oi. Itachi, wait." Hoshigaki Kisame called from behind. Itachi turned around with little interest and heard it before he saw what his partner looked at. In an alley of the castle like mansion of the Snow Daimyo, a little girl was battling several guards with one single katana; the clash of swords made the music of death ring in the snow muffled silence. With Itachi's ever seeing eyes he saw dark chakra swirl around the sword, as if it was alive. Itachi was not surprised to see a cursed sword, since Kisame wielded something akin to the one the girl held.

What caught is eyes was the flamboyant hair colour the girl had and her exotic green eyes. She donned a black coat, similar to the one he himself wore, but without the intricate pattern of clouds at the hem. The pink haired girl swirled, evaded, attempted a strike and was successful, then graciously backed away like a feline. The battle was quite elegant, he noted. The girl severed heads after heads, unwavering, swift in her movements. She had some talent, that little one. And strength in those slender arms. The guards roared, pained and furious, and rushed at her all at once. She was agile, so she easily evaded their mindless attacks. At last, she was the only one standing in the alley.

Heads rolled on the ice clad and bloodied ground and the girl huffed in exasperation, then it seemed she counted the bodies with her eyes. As if she was disappointed. Itachi observed for a bit and noticed a quite strong chakra presence sneak up behind the girl. He looked on as the Captain bodyguard of the Snow Daimyo struck at the girl with a huge Nodachi sword. It was a very large taichi and was excessively longer than 150 cm.

It turned into a dance of swords.

The girl was fast enough to meet his blade with her own, but she was forced back a few meters by the sheer force of the bodyguard's sword. In a blur he was fast to counter her next attack which should have cut off his arm. Itachi saw Kisame's murderous killing intent rise, but with a glance Kisame lowered it down to a minimum. The shark man always listened to his expressions, even when he was on the verge.

"Will you dance with me?" Itachi saw the girl mouth these words in a leer, as if she was living for this moment. The Uchiha wondered if she was high on soldier pills.

The petite girl darted forward and kicked off the snowy ground, pirouetting in mid air as she slashed horizontally at her opponent. A thud was heard as the man's head lolled to a stop at his body's feet which then crumpled down in the rain of blood from the severed neck. The Nodachi sword fell to the ground, abandoned.

"That was a short tango." The girl seemed miffed as she regarded the body and then silently bowed her head, as if thanking the still bodies for the fight. As if thanking them for giving their lives to her, as she mumbled a number again. This time he saw that she mouthed 'one hundred and three'. The Uchiha traitor understood what she counted. Endlessly, this hatred, these deaths, what is it worth?, he mused.

Itachi was no longer interested and nodded to the Monster of the Mist who seemed to have his shark-like eyes glued to the girl. And most of all, his eyes followed the katana.

"That girl; I remember her. That's Izanami, right there. She's grown up more than I expected." Kisame's face grimaced into a toothy bloodthirsty grin as he followed after Itachi. Itachi didn't ask. He had no interest in the girl nor the sword, but something nagged in the back of his mind. As if he had seen the same flash of pink somewhere before, years ago.

* * *

><p><em>The Man Without a Name<em>

He disliked the colour of her hair. It was distracting and too out of place. It was the colour of a blush, the colour of cherry blossom flowers. It was a colour he never would have thought a human could possibly grow before he had met her. It was most of all unfitting for a shinobi since most of the time shinobi are supposed to be invisible and not call for attention. Her hair always made people look at her twice.

She was so attention catching in a crowd that anyone could spot her directly, even without trained eyes. It was definitely an unfitting hair colour and he disliked it. That was the logical explanation he found in his head when he noticed that he couldn't stop looking at her. She sat in front of him, waiting for Danzō to call her inside his office for and update and probably her Root guise which she were supposed to use inside Root. The nameless man had been waiting as well in the Root underground headquarters for further instructions.

The kunoichi had recently come back from her first S-class mission and had earned recognition in the grey parts of shinobi society. They called her 'Cherry' in the Bingo Books, because none knew her name. He realised even he didn't know it, since he had never asked her before. She had succeeded in killing the Snow Daimyo, a request from an anonymous powerful nation to Konohagakure village, and she had destroyed the Snow castle to smithereens. Nothing was left of it, apparently. Only bodies. The body count was humongous, since the Snow Daimyo had a lot of money to hire protection from mercenaries and missing nin. And she had killed them all, left none to breath.

Now, she was on the list of possible ANBU recruits the Hokage had. The man without a name had been ordered to spy on the progression of Danzō's plan for the pink haired girl and it seemed to have gone smoothly. The Godaime would probably appoint the girl ANBU within the week.

"Oh, it's you!" Suddenly, a clear voice rang in his ears. He looked up to see her staring at him. His lips twitched and stretched. He had read about smiles, and smiles made other people feel welcome and appreciated. But did she actually recognise him? He had worn a mask that day. Maybe she was actually able to see it in his body language?

"Yes?"

"You're that one, from that day in the trial ceremony room. You... " She trailed off, remembering they had been ordered to not help her in any medical way. Ears were always listening somewhere in the Root headquarters. "Thank you. What's your name?"  
>"I have no name." He answered politely, bowing his head slightly with a 'smile' on his lips.<p>

The girl looked baffled for a few moments, then it seemed she was reminded of Root's codex. No name, no emotions; only the mission exists.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. Nice to meet you. For a second time." She grinned and he noticed that her grin was slightly different from his own. He wondered what it was.

"Can I give you a name?" She asked happily, as if naming a pet. The man without a name only stretched the muscles around his mouth into a 'smile', but before he could answer her a voice seared through the humid air of the underground quarters.

"Haruno!" Danzō's dark voice was heard from inside the office. The girl's smile vanished and was replaced by a stern line, her green eyes shot emerald daggers. Such a swift change of expression, he though. It almost fascinated him. She stood and went inside, leaving him on his chair with her name on his mind.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

Hiya! A little rant, but if you like my story, please read.

Finally, the two loveable idiots made an appearance huh! I found that I have a huge problem writing from their perspectives. A. Huge. Problem. Because whatever I write, it just feels so cliché. Like it's already been written so, so many times. A cheerful but knowing Naruto, the brooding little manpain Sasuke. I don't find it interesting even, to write from their perspectives. Maybe I've just been into so many Sakura-centric fanfics I've kind of forgotten about those two. But I want to write from their perspectives. I just can't- AH. **I need a Beta Reader.** Like, so much. It sucks to do to Beta-less stories. My grammar is chaotic, character development sucks, environmental descriptions are non-existent and I might have missed so many plot holes I feel like turning my bed into an igloo and never coming out.

Either way, I update the chapters regularly. Due to reviews, _my little lovely reviewers I love you furrever and everrr_, I take note of weird stuff that I have written and change it. So I'm sorry, sometimes it's a good idea to reread the story. Like, Sakura's katana is called Izanami. And I erased the fluff between Neji and Sakura in chapter 5 because it was just so uncalled for (Thank you, **UchihaJennifer,** for pointing it out!). I decided then that if there's going to be some lemony-ish stuff later in the story, there is going to be a well developed tale behind it.

And, just please, tell me if Sakura is starting to get on your nerves. I hope she does. She's in the middle of transitioning so she hasn't found herself yet, so it might seem like she has PMS or something due to her mood swings and change of personality. But I promise, soon she will find herself. All in due time.

And I love reviews. Can never say it enough. Reviews helps me as an author and every review is an important aspect of my improvements. I appreciate all kinds of reviews, even those who point out the bad stuff. Cause I need someone to point out the bad stuff.

Love you guys!

xx fascalia


	7. Cherry

**Transition**

Sakura is perceived from the perspectives of others as she changes during the years into something else entirely. The people near her follows her transition closely and when she starts abandoning everything she held dear - she gets closer and closer to her goal.  
>Non-Canon, Sakura-centric

Chapter 7

Through the Eyes of a Man of Shadows, a Widow and a Man Who Has a Name

* * *

><p><em>The Man of Shadows Shimura Danzō<em>

She strictly waltzed inside and bowed her head in respect, then sat on the chair facing him behind the office desk when he had nodded his approval. The chair squeaked when she sat down. Her facial expression was nonexistent and he was pleased with it. It seemed like she had practiced to wipe all signs of emotion away from her face.

"I heard about your S-ranked mission in Snow. Well done, Haruno. It might have earned you a place on the ANBU recruit list of the Hokage." He nodded. Her eyes were perplexed for an instant, then it was gone. He recognised she must have been surprised at his praise. Maybe he was himself, he didn't know. He was not one to offer praise to just anyone.

"Thank you, Danzō-sama. It was easier than what I would have believed at first. Explosives are very useful if placed in the right location. Kagebunshins make for easy decoys. There was not much else to it." She explained. He said nothing in return, gathering a few information papers in his hand. Because of her recent success at the S-rank mission, since however much she tried to make it seem easy; he knew it hadn't been. The Snow Daimyo, now dead, had been very paranoid and had the highest security in all the Elemental Nations.

Danzō had had to reevaluated her skills. She was much more cunning and strong than he at first had thought. He had planned this course of action, The Assassination plan of the Last Fan, for a long time and the recent events of her missions had made it clear to him. He would assign her this mission; the executioner of the plan. She was the perfect one for it, in all truth. She had bonds. She had known him once; and that made for sentimental emotions he knew could be beneficial. He then gave her the information papers and she accepted them, eyeing them right away.

"You are to be put up on a team to wipe out Uchiha Sasuke." He said and watched her expression. Nothing changed. So he continued with the information detail.

"There is a Root member that will accompany you under taken disguise. You will try to make him a part of Team Seven, incorporate him into the team dynamics and make other trust him. It is only the early stages of the Assassination plan, so do not expect to be sent to do it right away. Some plans needs time to be useful in the end." His chair creaked when he changed his sitting position slightly. The pink haired girl in front of him took in the information, no change in her facial composure.

"You won't take the next Jounin exams that are coming up in the next month. You are to go as a Chunin - not Jounin, not ANBU. I still require the secrecy about your position. This plan will be taken into action when Uzumaki Naruto comes back to Konoha from his training with the Sannin Jiraya. I believe they are scheduled to be back to the village within a year from now. Tsunade will deploy Hatake Kakashi, your old teacher, to your team as the leader. A Root member will take the place of the Uchiha so it will be a complete team. Then there is a high probability that Tsunade will send you out on a retrieving mission for Uchiha Sasuke; however, you are to kill him and make it seem accidental. The Root member will help if there is a failure - though I'd recommend not to disappoint me. Because of Uchiha Sasuke's eye capability and the strength he possesses I will personally train you during this year to be able to take him on. Do not expect mercy."

The girl's eyes were so cold. He had never expected that. He was, after all, talking about her killing a former teammate. But she didn't even flinch and he found it strange. He needed to evaluate her feelings about the mission; he was not used to the concept but he knew it was dangerous to disregard emotions. They were precarious and unpredictable.

"Haruno. Will you be able to kill him?"

"Yes. If I am strong enough by then." Even her voice was cold, even, calculating. Her eyes grazed him, as if she observed something interesting.

"Why? I know you were infatuated with the Uchiha betrayer." He pointed out, knowing he must have stepped on a fresh wounded part of her heart. Still, she gave nothing away. It almost seemed like she had expected Danzō's question and the knowledge he had of her love for her former teammate.

"A childhood crush on good looks, nothing more nor less. It was shallow, blind and there was no depth to it." She answered with nothing in her voice to give away what she was feeling. Danzō only waited. The Haruno saw it; he wanted her to elaborate on it. She sighed, then met his eye with green burning pupils. The man of shadows was pleased, there it was; emotions. That determination. The exact same steely shade he had seen in her eyes when she had swallowed the green and the red pill.

"A small part of me misses him, obviously. We shared meals together, went on missions together, went to the Academy together. He was a child then, as well was I and there is always a certain innocence in children. But another, larger part of my conscience sighs in relief at his absence. It whispers that he was always holding me back. Always standing in front of me. And there is no question about his obsession over gaining strength for his own selfish causes. He is the core issue of many problems that has risen in Konoha since he left. He trains under the Sannin Orochimaru - a criminal from our village. A criminal who experiments on sickly projects and cares little for moral standards, even from a shinobi perspective. Uchiha Sasuke is a revengeful man who sees nothing past his goals, he disregards Konoha and most of all; he has broken all ties with the village. This means he is prepared to go against Konoha if it is beneficial for him. That concludes in the fact that he might be a threat to our village, so I can easily see the reason behind your order of his execution. Better to quickly obliterate him before he gains even more strength and will be out of our control."

She finished and Danzō found himself impressed. Impressed with her analytical sense to her explanation, her frozen heart, her calculated conclusion of the order and the plan. He was content with her answer since it made sense to him. He himself would never forgive a teammate if the one proved to be a threat to Konoha; he would kill the teammate if needed. She was similar to him in this, it seemed. Konoha's protection and superiority to the other villages would be insured.

"I see." He said and then produced her Root clothing. "Wear these clothes and this mask when you are inside Root. None is to recognise you, so do something about your hair. Only the ANBU captains knows your real identity, as well as the Root member who will join Team Seven."

"Yes, Danzō-sama." The Haruno took a hold of the black clothes and the blank white mask. It was the same mask she had worn on the ceremonial trial day. There was dried blood splatter on it.

"The Root member who will join Team Seven... Is he the one waiting outside?" She pondered, curious eyes following his movements.

"Yes. Why do you ask?"  
>"Oh. It might be rude of me to inquire this, but could I possibly suggest a name for him?"<br>"That is a strange request. But, yes, you may. What name do you have in mind?"  
>"Sai." The Haruno answered and smiled at the man of shadows, then left.<p>

* * *

><p><em>The Powerful Alcoholic Senju Tsunade<em>

A flash of pink in the corner of her peripheral vision gave her the knowledge of her former apprentice presence behind her. Tsunade turned swiftly around to see Sakura walking on the street, towards the library. The pink haired girl had a large backpack slung over her shoulder and her beautiful long hair was set in a low pony tail at her neck. Adorning her now usual attire; a black sleeve-less turtleneck and a pair of black pants, with kunai pockets and med kit pockets, and that strange sword strapped on her back. Her expression was muddled with mixing emotions; regret, hate, spite, pity and longing. Tsunade wondered what had happened, seeing as the girl's eyes were fixed on the ground as she walked, but she could only guess what it was. The Godaime knew that Danzō must have made contact with her briefly after her S-rank mission. She must have been assigned to some mission or other. Whatever it was, Tsunade would find out.

"Oi, Pinky!" Tsunade exclaimed and bounced up to her on the street. The Haruno turned around to look at the Godaime but she gave no answer, nor smile. She didn't even greet her. Glinting, menacing sapphires stared back at her.

"Damn. If looks could kill..." Tsunade frowned and shook her head.  
>"I believe there is a certain kind of bird perched on that house." A whisper, so soft in the breeze of the wind, came to her ears and Tsunade might have missed it if she hadn't been perceptive.<p>

Tsunade knew what the girl meant; Root was probably spying on them. They didn't trust the girl yet, so they watched how she interacted with people and what she did on her free time. The Godaime sighed, then clenched her fist. Her brown eyes glistened in a flash. It was _so_ on.

"You! Infuriating girl! Where are your morals?" She screamed and the girl took a step back in surprise. Civilians stopped walking around them, staring at the Hokage's outbreak. Perfect, Tsunade thought.

"You don't know _anything_. Old weak hag!" Sakura hissed loudly through her teeth, then turned around and left, hopping up on the rooftops with angry eyes and a scowl plastered on her face. Civilians on the street were left gaping, eyes bulging. They had seen the Hokage's former apprentice actually scream and call her 'old hag'. The civilians attention were fully on the Godaime, awaiting her reaction. Tsunade almost giggled but she had her act to fulfil, and she needed to meet the civilians expectations. With a roar, Tsunade stomped on the ground in frustration, spreading cracks all over the street for impact. The people fell away in groups, screeching as the cracks developed and looked alarmingly like an earthquake. Tsunade then walked away to the Hokage Tower, knowing that the Haruno were waiting for her there. She almost grinned.

When the Hokage arrived in the Hokage Tower and opened the door to her office, she found that Sakura waited in the corner of her room, already having sealed it for uninvited eyes and ears. Tsunade waddled inside and shut the door to her office, checking the seals one time just to be sure and found them perfect.

"None saw you getting in, I presume?" Tsunade asked the pinkette as she went to slump down into her chair with a loud huff.

"Nope. Nice show you put on, by the way. Cracking the ground was a huge plus." The Haruno grinned, but her eyes were distant, as she sat down on the chair in front of the Hokage.

"It was fun, yeah. Now, tell me. What is it?" Tsunade poked the girl on her forehead, gently. Sakura huffed and then told Tsunade of Danzō's plan, the annihilation of Uchiha Sasuke. Tsunade was baffled; the _audacity_ of that man, she grumbled. But she clapped her hands; since she knew everything now it would be a piece of cake to avoid the confrontation.

"Oh. I'll just make sure that Sai is never admitted on the team and I won't send you on the retrieving mission-"  
>"No. I think we should go along with the plan." Sakura said and Tsunade blanched.<br>"What?" She sputtered, not quite believing the girl. She couldn't have changed that much, could she? No, it wasn't possible. Tsunade's mind was reeling and Sakura gently tapped the Hokage on her shoulder. Tsunade almost winced. Sakura's eyes were suddenly soothingly gentle and there was a sad smile on her lips.

"I don't want to kill Sasuke. But I have another goal in mind, and that goal would be easier to achieve if we went along with Danzō's plan."  
>"What? Girl, are you serious? Going along with his plan? But he said that this Root member Sai would finish the Uchiha if you failed!" Tsunade angrily slammed her hands on her office desk, cracking the furniture in splinters. Haruno didn't bat an eye.<p>

"That won't happen."

"What do you mean? Are you going to kill the Uchiha?"  
>"No, as I said before, I do not intend to kill him."<p>

"Then what are you going to do?"  
>"Something I should have done a long time ago; follow my goals to their completion. This time it will be different." Tsunade noted a crease of the girl's eye brows, but she didn't frown. Her face was a complex pallet full of contradicting emotions.<p>

"Do I have your trust, Sakura?" The Godaime slid down on her chair, staring into the depths of those sapphire eyes.  
>"You, if anyone, have my trust. You are one of few that I would give my life for. You should know that, Tsunade." Sakura declared and her eyes never blinked, not once. "I need your trust in my goals in return."<p>

"What are your goals, Sakura?" Tsunade waved her hands helplessly, getting tired of the girl's secrecy.  
>"They are a few. They are laughable, because how I am now - they are impossible. They are ridiculous. And they might never be achieved."<p>

"What are they? I need to know to approve of this, Sakura. I need to know your plans. How can I trust you otherwise?"  
>"I see your point. I... I have never shown them to anyone else and I need you to keep them a secret. These goals, this paper..." Sakura produced a crumpled piece of paper from her chest bindings. "This paper... Is a part of me. They matter the most to me. I trust you with a part of my whole being."<p>

Sakura gave the Hokage her paper of impossible goals. Tsunade's eyes blearily looked at the words, then she gasped. Her frown deepened when she read to the last word on the list. The Godaime felt her eyes burn and emotions wash over her.

"I hope that is enough for you."

Tsunade cried silently. She let the tears run down her face and she couldn't remember the last time she had actually cried. Her pity for the girl grew stronger, as well as the astonishment. She had proved to herself that she could grow strong, but she needed more strength for these goals. So this list was the cause of her steely determination, the cause of her climbing the ranks, the cause of her getting submitted to the ANBU, the cause of her plan against Danzō... Everything - because of this piece of paper. Tsunade's breath hitched.

"So these were your goals all along... Oh, Sakura." Tsunade sniffed as the tears dried on her cheek. The Haruno gently took the paper from the Godaime's hands and stuffed it back into her chest binding.

"Now that you know, don't take pity on me. If anyone, I least deserve such. And please, don't discuss the goals with me. Nothing you say can change them."

The Hokage blinked away her tears and tried to focus. Sakura quirked her lip in a slanted smile.

"Have faith in me, Tsunade."

The Haruno girl asked of the Hokage. Tsunade could only nod, feeling her throat swell.

"I will go along with it." Tsunade stated and cleared her throat loudly. She really couldn't believe this girl. She might be even more unpredictable than Naruto.

"Leaving this behind, how is it going with the recruitment to ANBU?" The girl asked, tilting her head in a gleeful way. Tsunade found herself smiling, though it was slightly pained. She had to let that paper go. They were Sakura's goals, and she had to accept that, the Godaime chided herself. Then Tsunade jerked her head back, realising what the girl had asked.

"Oh! Yeah, you're on the list. I'm going to appoint you ANBU tomorrow. Damn, I totally forgot about that." Tsunade chuckled. The pinkette in front of her gleamed and it seemed like suns shone from her eyes. Sparkling.

"Great. When should I come by tomorrow?"  
>"Six o'clock in the morning. There'll be a small ceremony. You're to be introduced to the other ANBU members, of course with your face covered. And then I'll give you a mask."<br>"Ah. I already have one." Sakura stated. Tsunade raised an eyebrow at this.

"Really? What kind of mask is it? A tiger? A cat? Or maybe a dragon?" Tsunade inquired.

"It's blank." Sakura said calmly. "And I think I'm going to keep it that way."

* * *

><p><em>The Cloud Watching Boy Nara Shikamaru<em>

She never came by to play shogi with him anymore. All he saw of her were on the streets sometimes, always heading somewhere, always greeting quickly and then disappearing in the crowds. She mostly went on missions, and sometimes to go train with that cursed sword. He knew somewhat that she had a goal in mind, probably a plan as well to achieve that goal, which didn't include himself nor the Hyuuga. She had abandoned them, it seemed almost.

And Shikamaru didn't exactly know how to feel about it, he contemplated, as he strolled on the street. He was on his way to practice with his team, early in the morning, since they were supposed to take on a few missions before trying out to become Jounin. He thought it was a drag, but both his father and mother had pushed him to do it. It was expected of him. Somewhere in his mind, he knew but couldn't really acknowledge it, he did it because of that troublesome pink haired woman. If he became Jounin, he might be able to help her. Maybe help her find a loophole around the sword. Find a way to destroy it without destroying her. But maybe it was pointless all the same, he figured, since becoming Jounin only meant an increase in the pay check, and more responsibility, and more difficult missions. Such a hassle.

He didn't see as said woman flashed past him on the roof tops since he was in such deep train of thought. He didn't see her eyes lock on his form, and he didn't see the pained look in her eyes as she continued to run to the ANBU headquarters. He didn't see how much she wanted to tell him everything.

* * *

><p><em>The Senbon Guy Shiranui Genma<em>

They were gathered in a spacious room within the ANBU headquarters and held the ceremony for the newest ANBU recruit. It was a short ceremony but important all the same. The kunoichi bowing in front of the Godaime and the ANBU ceremonial leader was still and awaited the ceremony to start. Even with the blank mask on, he recognised her. Even with that black bandana covering her head and outrageous hair. Even with the ANBU attire. It wasn't that difficult, really, since he had been on a few missions with her. Genma was a special case, he knew, in recognising people without seeing their faces. He always had problems seeing people for who they were in their faces only; according to him, all faces looked the same and there was no difference. There were eyes, mouth, nose and skin. It was all the same. So he had had to recognise movements and smells instead. So to him, he easily recognised her scent, her light steps and that strange katana strapped on her back.

Genma was surprised she had become ANBU so soon, he would have at least given her another year before she was qualified enough. But since ANBU did not care for age, gender or rank, he guessed it wasn't that surprising after all. The Hokage must have had something special in mind, Genma thought, as he stole a gaze at his Godaime. The busty blond woman stood among the ANBU captains and emanated a strong aura, even in the midst of an ANBU crowd. She did an excellent job of making people notice her and shrink in her powerful presence.

"Since our identities are to remain hidden, what is your given name amongst us?" The ANBU ceremonial leader asked her, as she bowed down on one leg in front of him. Without looking up, she answered without pondering.

"Utsuro Sen." Her voice was low and muffled by the mask, making it sound a lot darker than it actually was.

"Then, Utsuro Sen is your given name. Your mask will remain blank, according to your request. Rise, and you will be called ANBU. To support our Hokage and the protection of our village, we welcome you to us." The ANBU captain spoke, a hint of incredulity in his voice - seemingly thinking the girl too young as well. Only Genma knew she was still a Chunin. She would need to prove herself amongst the ANBU members or she would never be accepted amongst the ranks. The girl rose from her position and bowed first to the Godaime, then to the Captain and then to the rest of the ANBU members crowd witnessing the ceremony. If anything, Genma mused, she was polite.

The ceremony was finished and the ANBU vanished in groups to attend missions, train or write mission reports. The Godaime glanced once at the kunoichi with a blank mask, then turned around and left. Genma had been appointed to show the kunoichi around the ANBU headquarters compound. It was a larger housing complex than what most people would think, so to find one's way through the maze of corridors took some time. Genma went up to the now standing kunoichi. He wore his own mask so she wouldn't recognise him.

"Sen! I'll show you around. Come with me." He cheered and patted her shoulder. The blank mask turned up to him and she nodded. They went into the corridor leading to the dining room, then went to the under ground training areas. The kunoichi seemed to take note of her surroundings and she politely disregarded the map he had offered her of the compound.

"I have the map in my head, no need for a physical one." She said and coughed. Genma noted how strained her voice sounded, but he didn't think more of it. When they reached the weapons storage he noticed that she had fallen behind. When he looked back he saw her shoulders shivering and she steadied herself against the wall while breathing hard.

"How are you, Sen?" Genma asked, concern in his voice. The kunoichi didn't look up at him or answer his question, she suddenly clenched her shirt at the chest and wheezed loudly. Genma was fast to catch the kunoichi when she fell. He felt how her body was burning up and he quickly noted she had a high fever. She shivered in his steadying arms.

"You're going to see medical attention. Right now." He stated and picked her up into his arms, huddling her like a baby. The kunoichi gasped, as if in pain. Genma started running through the compound, towards the hospital. Suddenly, she gripped his shirt weakly.

"Shi-izune. N-not Tsun-nade. T-take off m-my mask." She said meekly and then let go of his shirt. Genma looked at her, the blank mask hiding her face, and sniffed. Why would she want to see Shizune? And how did she know that he had recognised her? From what he knew, Shizune was a proficient medic and a poison's expert only. When they arrived at the hospital, the kunoichi was unconscious and he had had stripped her of her mask as well as the usual ANBU harness. None could see what she was. Now, it only looked like she had been on a mission gone awry and he had saved her on orders from the Hokage, or something like that. Genma called for Shizune and found her on a break in the personnel rest room. The black haired woman was fast to get up from the chair, almost spilling her coffee in the process, and rushed to the two ANBU.

"What happened?" Shizune quickly asked as she guided him to a room and ushered him inside. Genma put the sweating girl down on the bed as he mumbled that he didn't know.

"Thank you for bringing her. I need to focus, so please leave the rest to me." She whirled around and her hands were all over the unconscious girl, searching for the cause of her collapse, and Genma saw the pinkette's breathing slow down. But he understood that Shizune needed to concentrate, so he left with a slight wave of his hand.

* * *

><p><em>The Older Apprentice Shizune<em>

_Foolish girl_, Shizune thought with acid in her mind. She found that in the girl's blood stream there was several different poisons, spread out into every limb and muscle. Shizune was successfully able to draw out most of the deadly poison, with a small cut on the girl's skin at her solar plexus, and the poison seeped out from the girl's body and gathered in a dark blue ball of chakra containing it in Shizune's hand. She put the poison into a glass container and sealed it, then secured the bottle tightly. She couldn't do more for the girl since the remaining poisons in the girl's body were too difficult to draw out.

Shizune found herself standing besides the bed, staring at the pink haired kunoichi sleeping restlessly, sometimes twitching and gasping as she sweated. Shizune remembered all those months ago, was it four- five months even?, when they had chatted in the hospital rest room on a break. The girl back then had been cheerful and took the work as a nurse seriously. Shizune and Sakura had then started to talk about poisons since a man had just been brought in, he had convulsions and blood seeped out from every opening in his body. Shizune had handled the poison extraction and Sakura had helped as she watched and learned at the same time. Even though Shizune had extracted the poisons, it was too late. The man died from internal bleeding, the collapse of his lungs and because of the poison that had made his heart unable to beat no more. Sakura had written the time of death on the board handed to her.

Shizune knew what had happened to the dead man, since she had had similar poisoned patients before. She had explained to the girl on the coffee break that it existed a hidden village in the south that none knew by name, but it was known for its famous poisons; as well as their Black Widows. The Black Widows were shinobi women, women who had been fed poisons in their food from the day they came out of the womb. Every day of their lives; they ate poisons in their breakfast, lunch and dinner - even in their apples. They were fragile and weak because of the poisons, yet they were known for their unparalleled beauty, shimmering long blond hair, luscious pink lips and smooth skin. The Black Widows, at the age of 18, were sent on their first missions. Because when they turned 18 years of age, their bodily fluids were then poisonous; meaning, if they kissed a man and exchanged saliva, the deadly poison in their bodies made it a kiss of death. That made for perfect seduction and annihilation missions. Even worse was the intercourse apparently, since that way it took a bit longer before the subjugated men died and in that time the Black Widows could extract information from their dying victims with the promise of an antidote - which never came. Their blood, it was heard, was the most lethal fluid of their bodies.

Shizune told the girl that the Black Widows had to have their daily amount of poisons inserted into their food, or the poison in their bodies would turn against them and they would die themselves. Shizune remembered the Haruno's eyes shining in admiration. She had then reprimanded the girl for looking so interested at hearing of their profession, since it meant that the women could have no lovers, no children of their own. The Black Widows were cursed with their fates, since they were born into it. However, it was a rare phenomena and only existed in that certain village of poisons.

The Haruno girl had deliberated, mulled over the fact of the Widows. Then, Sakura's eyes had pierced Shizune's in an instant. The girl covered her mouth in realisation. She had then asked if Shizune had been born in that village. Shizune had denied it and laughed, ruffling the girls hair and reminded her that the women from that village had blond hair and was beautiful. Shizune had black hair and had average looks.

Shizune clenched her fist in that moment of recollection. How perceptive that girl was. The black haired medic closed her eyes as she remembered the last part of that coffee break. The Haruno had apologised that she had asked. But she was still interested in the aspect of gaining immunity to poisons by inserting it into ones food. Shizune had told her that to build up a resistance took many, many years to achieve and small portions of the poison into the food. But the girl had been persistent, saying things about it being useful - something or other. Shizune then had showed the girl a food poisoning schedule which showed just how many milligrams of poison was required each day to not kill her, and Shizune had done this without actually considering the fact that girl might very well, possibly, try it on herself. Shizune had never even thought that the emotional, little pink haired girl would do something so foolish. If one milligram poison was amiss in the portions, it meant instant death.

But the little pink haired girl had apparently done something foolish. Shizune recognised that the poison in the girl's body had been in there for months, festering but fading, yet her body had built up a resistance against it she noted when she found the antibodies. The black haired kunoichi went to the girl, checked her pulse and looked into her eyes as she opened her eyed lid. The girl's eyes were unseeing, as she still was unconscious, but Shizune saw the after effect of the poisons in her eyes. The girl's black pupils had shrunk to a minimal dot, almost eerily similar to a predator's eyes. There was a light sheen of sweat on the girl's skin.

Shizune didn't want to admit that she was impressed with the girl, but she most definitely was. Eating poisons is painful, Shizune knew by experience. Sometimes one could fall ill for one whole week due to one certain poison the body hadn't had much immunity to, but one still had to eat the daily poisons. She understood why the Haruno had done it in the beginning; gaining a resistance to a few poisons would be very favourable to a medic. She would be able to find an antidote easily for those who fell for a poison, and she would be able to heal patients who had contagious poisons inside their bodies.

However, she didn't find the girl amiable anymore. Shizune had seen the pinkette and Tsunade's latest disrupting interactions and there was definitely something wrong. Sakura had had several arguments with the Hokage during the last month, yelling at each other about morals and about being too soft or too harsh. Shizune didn't really know what to make of it, since the two had gotten along really well in the beginning and Shizune had seen the start of a friendship between the two; almost a mother and daughter relationship. But then all had fallen to pieces. It was after that coma Sakura had been in. Shizune wondered what could have changed the girl so much in her sleep.

A muffled moan was heard from the hospital bed and Shizune snapped back to reality, leaving her memories behind. She saw the Haruno's eyes flutter open, still predatory like.

"Sakura?" Shizune asked, feeling the girl's forehead. It was sweaty, but without poison.

"Sorry, Shizune. Seems like I took an overdoes this morning." The pinkette rasped and cleared her throat, eyes swimming. Shizune pressed the girl back into the hospital bed when it seemed like she wanted to get up.

"You're an idiot, Sakura-san." Shizune reprimanded the pinkette and went to get some water to give to the girl. The girl's immune system would take care of the rest of the poisons and so, there was nothing else Shizune could do for the girl in medical terms.  
>"Spot on." Sakura smiled tiredly, drank some of the offered water and wiped sweat from her forehead. "I need to get home. I have an antidote for the Mamba poison there-"<br>"_The_ Mamba poison? That's one of the most lethal poisons in the Five Elemental Nations! There's no antidote-"

"I know. That's why it's good to build up a resistance against it, isn't it? And I made an antidote. It took a while though. And it didn't work at first." The girl grinned through the pain visible in her green glassy eyes as she with great effort got up from the bed, leaving Shizune standing speechless beside the bed. The pinkette staggered out of the door and whispered something almost inaudible to Shizune with her back turned away.

"Thank you, Widow."

* * *

><p><em>The Man Named Sai<em>

A few days after the ceremony, when she had been accepted into ANBU, Danzō had sent them on a scroll retrieving mission to Iwagakure to make them used to each other. The retrieving mission didn't require the use for their ANBU attire since they were supposed to be unnoticeable. The girl, Haruno Sakura, met him in the morning wearing civilian clothes but he knew there was weapons stored underneath the fabric. They stood on the rooftop furthest from the center of Konohagakure, in the outskirts of the hidden village. Sai, which was now his name, donned a stomach showing top and black a hakama, and his drawing scrolls were strapped on his back.

"Good morning, Sai." She drawled. "Ready?"

"Yes." He said and they jumped off the rooftop and sprinted into the forest.

They travelled mostly in silence during the short trip to Iwagakure, both keeping the strict pace. The girl was quiet, as if she contemplated something. Sai noted the katana strapped on her back and he felt quiet uneasy. The katana seemed to have some kind of dark chakra induced to it. He didn't ask her about it though.

They arrived and got the scroll in the village - all going smooth and well. On the way back, however, a few chakra presences ahead in the forest alerted them and they stopped.

"How many?" Sakura asked tiredly, as she tucked the scroll securely into her backpack. They had been keeping a very, very strict pace. It was a silent challenge between the two and they had been racing against each other constantly through the entire trip. It was a bit childish, but he found it amusing. They had been very even, but the Haruno had leapt off one time and won the race.

"I believe they are around fifteen. I think they have noticed us." Sai suggested as he tried to count the chakra presences hidden in the foliages. And true to his word, projectiles were shot at them a few moments later. Sai and Sakura evaded them fluently and Sakura was about to wield her katana, but suddenly a large bolt of fire rushed to them. Sai was flung into a tree and he felt how his leg shattered into pieces on impact. Sakura seemed to have fared worse though, as she lay slumped on the ground a few feet away, having burn marks on her body and three large chunks of wood was stuck into her back. Sai wrinkled his nose. This was not good. He couldn't move, and he had hit his head pretty hard as well. He felt blood trickle down his face.

"We got her!" A voice called and a missing nin from Kirigakure appeared behind a bush, flaunting a large battle axe on his shoulder and an obnoxious grin on his face.

"I thought I recognised her! It's Cherry. From the Bingo Books! I was right!" He cheered and sprang towards the kunoichi. Others followed him and they all looked roughed up, as hungry eyes travelled to her form they realised the bounty on her head. The man with the axe bowed down to tie the girl up, but as he did a hand shot out and went through his chest. Sparkling, the chakra scalpels on her fingers were unmistakable. The man coughed blood onto her and wriggled in her death grip, as he struggled against life leaving him. Then he fell, his neck down on his chest, and the kunoichi breathed hard as she retracted her gory hand from his muscles and tendons. The next missing nin was upon her in seconds, as he kicked her in the head. Hard. Sai swore he heard a crack and he hesitantly thought that Haruno Sakura had died as she was flung into a tree beside him, making it shook violently so leaves spread out into the wind.

The missing nin who had kicked her growled and produced chakra restraining chains from his back pocket. He went and roughly tied her hands behind her back and shackled her feet, smacking and beating her at the same time. She was rendered incapacitated. The missing nin coldly broke all of her fingers in anger, even though she was bound. Sai could her a muffled scream come from her mouth, but she bit it back hard. The other missing nin cheered and a few went up to inspect Sai, only to determine that he might sell for some price as well since he was accompanying Cherry. Sai couldn't really think straight, as everything was a blur and he was tied up and he couldn't move and there was pain all over his body, and he felt his leg numbing and he knew that wasn't good. In a moment, he passed out.

When he woke up, he found himself in a dark room, chains binding him to the wall. His leg was bleeding and bones peeked up form the ravaged flesh and he cringed. Sai looked up and saw Sakura on the other end of the room, chained as well to the wall, and those tree chunks still stuck into her back. They hadn't even bothered to take them out. The room was crowded, with the missing nin from Kirigakure, cheering and celebrating the capture of the recently infamous Cherry. One of the missing nin, seemingly the captain, held Sakura's katana in his hands, showing it to the others as they drank saké at a long table in the middle of the room. The captain was about to wield the katana from its scabbard, but a raspy voice hindered him, rupturing the talking.

"Don't touch her. She'll kill you." Sakura wheezed from the other end of the room. She earned an amused glance from the man, who then stood and walked up to her, with the katana swinging at his side, swinging the saké bottle with the other.

"What are you, delirious? Who? It's a fucking _sword_, Cherry pie." He quipped and slowly drew the sword from the scabbard with a grin, right in front of her face. Within moments, the whole of his sclerae seeped into darkness; his eyes turned black. The other missing nin the room didn't notice, except the one closest to the chained Sakura and the black eyed man. He turned in chair and got up, and as he went to them he saw the captain's eyes.

"What the fuck? What's with your eyes, Katsuri-taichou?" The man asked and backed away from him. The missing nin Katsuri turned to his comrade, a few breaths went by and then the captain violently thrust the katana into his comrade's stomach. The dying missing nin's scream caught the attention of the others. They stared at him in disbelief. Then an uproar broke the silence.

"Katsuri-taichou!"

"What's going on?"

"Must be a genjutsu!"

The missing nin rushed at the black eyed man Katsuri, drawing their swords to make him incapacitated. Katsuri's face was cold as stone and he swiftly killed three of the missing nin in one go, as flowing as water and just as slippery he avoided the onslaught and killed meticulously. However, one missing nin successfully decapitated him from behind when he was busy killing two of his own comrades. Katsuri's head rolled on the ground to Sakura's shackled feet.

"What the hell?" The nin shouted, seeing five of his comrades on the ground, no longer breathing. He looked at the sword in Katsuri's still hands on the ground in a pool of blood and the nin was drawn to it. He picked it up curiously to study it, but in a second his eyes turned black as well. The other missing nin who were left alive screamed as he killed the last missing nin. The bloody mess on the ground and the gory sight seemed to have no effect on the black eyed nin; since he no longer ruled his own body. The missing nin then walked up to in front of Sakura. He cut off her ropes and unlocked her chains, and she slumped down in a heap but was fast to violently pull out the chunks of wood in her back. Then he stared into her eyes as he slit his own throat with a gurgling sound escaping his lips. She looked at the body in silence as it crumpled to the ground.

"I'm sorry." She whispered and then picked up the sword. Her eyes turned white for one second, then they were gleaming green again. As if she had a second voice in her head.

"What? They didn't count? Izanami-sama..." She debated, seemingly to thin air. Sai sniffed.

The shackled man on the other side only stared at the unbelievable scene in front if him. What he had just witnessed made no sense to him at all. Sakura turned to him with a scowl on her face, walked up to him and cut his ropes and chains. He watched the sword warily. As if her eyes would turn black as well.

"This is Izanami. She doesn't like being touched." Sakura saw his defensive sitting pose and explained as she slid the katana into the scabbard. Unknowingly, Sai could breath again. Had he been holding his breath?

"I-I see. So this isn't the first time. Would you elaborate?" Sai asked, blank eyes staring at the katana.

"Well, it's a demon sword. We have a contract and she gets pissed if someone else, whom she calls 'unworthy, touches her. She can overrule someones mind and drench them in bloodlust and make them obsess over the colour 'red'. So, yeah. She makes them into killer machines." Sakura finished and Sai felt how he couldn't do anything else but stare at her. The Haruno wrinkled her nose when her gaze dropped to his still leg.

"That leg looks like shit." Sakura eyed his shattered bones and bent down, positioning herself in front of it. Her left hand searched through the surface of the skin, the ragged bones and flesh. Then, healing green chakra seeped from her finger tips and started to knit the muscle tissue together, reattach the nerve endings and thus stopping the blood flow. Sai only watched as he felt her and his chakra pull against each other.

"I'm going to retract the bone now. It will hurt." She said through clenched teeth and even stronger green chakra whirled around his bone and he felt as if his leg was numbing but was ravaged by fire as well and then it felt like his leg was chopped into pieces and then he felt as if it had frozen and then he could breath. It was over.

"You did good, Sai." The Haruno girl grinned and reached out her hand for his. He stared at it for a second, felt how his leg was now _totally fine_, and so he accepted her hand and they rose together.

"May I give you a nickname?" Sai found himself asking the girl as they walked out of the dark room and into a dimly lit corridor.

"Sure." Sakura grinned and cracked a few muscles as she unconsciously healed her right hand's fingers.

"Ugly." Sai said and was pleased with himself. He had read in a book on human interaction that it was important to have nicknames... for one's friends. It made them feel 'closer'.

"Fuckface." Sakura laughed and patted his shoulder. "I like how honest you are, Sai."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

Hey!

Thank you so much for the latest reviews! You guys just don't know how much I appreciate them. You rock!

And I have noticed I am in dire need of a Beta. I kind of know where I'm going with this fanfic, but it's hard to knit everything together. So as usual, if you notice something that's off, please tell me!

xx fascalia


	8. Insignificant Third

**Transition**

Sakura is perceived from the perspectives of others as she changes during the years into something else entirely. The people near her follows her transition closely and when she starts abandoning everything she held dear - she gets closer and closer to her goal.  
>Non-Canon, Sakura-centric

Chapter 8

Through the Eyes of a Man with a Borrowed Eye, the Snotty Brat and a Prodigy

* * *

><p><em>The Man of Shadows Shimura Danzō<em>

Danzō read through the report the Root member's, who was now called Sai, and Haruno Sakura's mission report. They had successfully retrieved the scroll, as well annihilated fifteen missing nin from Kirigakure. He had not expected that. According to the report, Sai's leg had been shattered and deemed unusable due to a fire jutsu directed at them. Haruno had led little damage except for a few broken fingers and injuries to her back from tree splinters. Even so, she had somehow succeeded in breaking free of the chakra restraining chains and slaughtered every single one of the missing nin with only one katana. He wondered if he had misjudged her strengths even more.

He didn't trust her, he trusted none, but she reminded him of himself in his younger days. Eager to prove herself, raising through the ranks rapidly, always looking for ways to make Konoha a feared village. He found himself falling a bit for that likeness to himself. He gripped the mission report slightly in his hand, crumpling the piece of paper. He would train her. He would train her hard, so she would surpass everyone she ever saw as the strongest. She would be one of his shields. She had the right determination, she craved strength, she had the disguise of a weak looking body and her hair contributed to that image as well, and she had medical knowledge. If trained properly, she would turn into the perfect weapon. And he would be able to manipulate her according to his own will.

She had two simultaneous jobs currently though; one as ANBU and one as the double agent for himself as a Root member. But he would most definitely find the time to train her until she bled. Until she begged. He took out his schedule for the week and found a couple of blank spaces during the evenings. Accordingly, he wrote a draft for her training, where location, type of training and time was specified. He then called for a Root member to deliver her training schedule immediately. When the Root member disappeared with a nod and in a puff of smoke, Danzō leaned back into his chair. He was pleased with the recent developments. In a year, she would be ready to confront the last Uchiha. If she didn't die in the process of annihilating him, she would be one of his most useful assets in Root. Danzō stretched his hand and then tucked out a book from his drawer, a book on the ancient politics of Hashirama's reign. It always made him feel at ease, reading those frayed words which he already knew by heart. He didn't know how many times he had read this book, but it was never one too many.

* * *

><p><em>The Man With a Borrowed Eye Hatake Kakashi<em>

Kakashi was a clever and hard-edged man. He had lived through more than most other shinobi his age, even though he wasn't the only one who had lost people close to him - his loss and that situation had left more than just a scar on his face. The burden of his gift and last reminiscence of his comrade still plagued him, but it also always left him feeling proud of his eye. It was his reminder to always look out for those close to him, never abandon a teammate and strive to succeed in missions preferably without causalities. So when Kakashi had gotten tired of looking after those little Genin teams, scurrying around and not being interesting at all - he found himself missing the lost days of Team Seven.

He recalled the past in a moment of closing his eyes, when he perched in a tree hiding from his current Genin team, and his eye abandoned the pages of his book to drift in the abyss of memories. That little dysfunctional and oh-so-interesting team. That Team Seven consisting of a grinning fox boy, a powerful brooding survivor and a weak, annoying girl.

The Kyuubi container who bore the will of fire deep in his heart, that cheerful energy that could oppose the sun, those cerulean blue eyes that shone of the want to be recognised - to be seen. That blond bob of hair, and the whiskers on his cheeks, and that never ending cheering of 'dattebayo'. Kakashi felt his lips quirk slightly in amusement at the memory of his student. The most unpredictable ninja - with a heart so big and with room for everyone's pain, he just couldn't understand how the little fox boy hadn't imploded in and on himself. He was an idiot, but a powerful idiot with a big heart. That just made him so much more amiable and easier to relate to.

Then those crimson eyes flashed to his mind and Kakashi felt the smile falter. How much that boy must have suffered. Those eyes that could turn into a spinning scarlet colour at any given moment. Those handsome features that had earned him the infatuation of almost every kunoichi in the village. That raven coloured hair, that pale complexion, those always flexing muscles. That search for strength for all the wrong reasons. That day he left them for Orochimaru. Kakashi clenched his jaw. He had seen potential in the boy, so he had taught him the Chidori. A jutsu he had come to regret teaching the brat. The copy nin hummed silently. He recalled that bond that Naruto and Sasuke shared. How Naruto had been so ferocious in bringing the Uchiha back. How he would never give up on his first friend. And Sasuke, who had seemed for a time, to behold the bond they shared as something legit. But then it had all turned out to be wrong. Kakashi wondered if the Uchiha had fallen deeper into the hatred seeping in his heart, how much stronger he must be now. How different he must be. And if he ever would come back home. The silver haired man sighed deeply, his eyes still closed.

Then, Kakashi was reminded of the fact that he had kind of forgotten about the pink haired kunoichi on the team, whom was still in the village. He almost felt sorry for the girl as he opened his eyes and looked out to the streets of Konoha. He was reminded of her petal-hued hair, those big green eyes that shone with innocence, narcissism, blind love and the naiveness of a child - never the eyes of a shinobi. He hadn't met her for a long time now, but the latest news was that she had been dismissed as the apprentice of the Hokage and now only took up a few missions on her free time from the hospital, where she worked as the head of the nurses at times. He found himself feeling the tiniest bit guilty; maybe she needed someone. To only just... be there for her. He didn't know what had unfolded between the Hokage and Sakura, but he didn't need to know. Sakura was one who was too prone for emotional outbursts and that combined with the short temper of the Hokage he could see that there had been differences and difficulties with coping with each other.

But if she had been so unwise as to not obey orders or listen to the Hokage of all people, maybe she wasn't as clever as he remembered her to be. Kakashi pondered; she was after all his former student, so he had some kind of responsibility on how she had developed during the years. Maybe she needed to be reprimanded. Maybe he would need to remind her to respect authority, as she had once respected him, and accept herself. Kakashi's watched the sun fall in shafts through the canopy of the tree, playing with the shadows on the branch. Maybe it was time for a little visit to his beloved former student. He jumped down from the branch and went to give some simple instructions to his little annoying Genin team, as he came up with an excuse on why he was late.

A few hours later into the afternoon, he found himself outside of the pink haired girl's apartment, having successfully escaped his annoying Genin team, and then he knocked three times before she opened the door, appearing in the later afternoon sun light. It took him by a little surprise, not that she had opened the door unexpectedly, no. It was her appearance. Her pink, flowing hair was long and straight and reached below her collarbone. Her creamy complexion was framed by bangs, combed to the sides of her face almost symmetrically. Her features had matured, her green eyes sapphire-like and her lips were a luscious pink. Her figure had taken on an hourglass form, her waist hugged tightly by the black shirt she donned, yet showing slender muscles on her bare arms. She had a katana strapped on her back. The beige skirt she wore did nothing to hide her long and slim legs. Her ankles and wrists wore some kind of bracelets, ugly black ones, which seemed to fill no other function than a piss at the fashion industry. He was so surprised he almost dropped his most valuable treasure, but he fumbled with the latest edition of Icha Icha until it was in a hard grip in his hand. Her verdant eyes grew bigger as she took in the appearance of her former teacher, probably not having expected to see him any time soon.

"You grew out your hair, Sakura." Was all he could muster as he regained his steely composure. She seemed not to have noticed his little surprise outbreak.

"Very perceptive, sensei." Sakura quipped, smirking with her head tilted to the side. "It was a long time since we last saw each other. Would you like some tea? I have two hours to spare at the moment." She said, standing casually at the threshold, leaning to the door frame with her hip. Kakashi blinked.

"Do you have camomile?" He asked, stuffing his beloved book into a pocket, trying not to think of the matured woman in front of him having been his own student once.

"I'll go have a look. Ino went and bought a hundred different tea flavours, saying I drink too much coffee and should explore the wonders of brewed water." Sakura sniffed and rolled her eyes as she shuffled inside, leaving the door open for Kakashi to follow. He went inside after her, looking around her quite spartan, simple apartment. He didn't quite understand why she had moved out from her parent's house. Sure, she might want to be independent, but Kakashi couldn't help himself but to think of Naruto and Sasuke. How much they would have appreciated living in their parent's house. How they would give everything to have a family of their own. How they would feel if she told them that she had left her parents for loneliness in an empty apartment.

The clatter of tea cups from the kitchen brought him back, and he shook his head. He flash stepped inside the kitchen and Sakura gestured for him to sit down at the kitchen table without looking at him. Kakashi sat down and noticed a thin layer of dust on the table surface. He wrinkled his nose. Either Sakura was a horrible cleaner, or she was never at home. It must be the latter, he mused as she put down the blue tea cups in front of him. She strutted up to the water boiler and put it on. When she moved, her hips swayed to one side more so than the other, Kakashi noted. Then he cursed himself for looking at her hips. He told himself, to clam himself down instead, that he only looked at it since it meant she probably had an old injury in her right leg. That's why she swayed one way a little, little more than the other with her hips.

Kakashi looked up from deliberating with his fisted hands and saw Sakura watching him with a smile, leaning against the counter as she waited for the water to boil.

"It really was a long time ago..." He heard her muse under her breath.

"So how are missions going, Sakura? You're a Medic now, I presume. It must be a lot of hard work." He tried to stir up the conversation, maybe he'd be able to direct it to the apprenticeship to the Hokage. To why she had been dismissed.

"You haven't looked into the Bingo Books lately, huh, sensei." Her eyes gleamed. Kakashi cocked his head slightly to the side in inquiry, but she didn't elaborate on her statement any further, so he didn't ask. He hadn't actually looked into the Books for a while, since it wasn't necessary for the time being; what with him being chased by the Genin teams and they most certainly were no missing nin.

"Missions are going well. However, I am not much in the role of a Medic anymore. I step in sometimes, but I prefer being in the front. Would you like honey, milk or sugar in your tea?" She asked, as she poured the hot water into their cups.

"No, thank you. I like it with a strong flavour." He replied as she put the teabags into their cups and nodded. He only creased an eyebrow and watched the pink haired kunoichi sip her tea in silence. When she raised her head, she looked straight into his eyes and a smile crept onto her pink lips.

"What about a little spar, Kakashi-sensei? I won't use Izanami." She grinned almost playfully into her tea cup. Kakashi sipped his camomile tea. It was bitter, yet sweet. Maybe just like this moment.

"Izanami? Is that the name of your katana?" He chuckled at her cockiness and self confidence. She had always been a little too self confident every time she had learnt and perfected a little jutsu. He found the girl amusing, but a little disappointing. She hadn't changed much since she was a Genin. And the fact remained that she was still a Chunin, she hadn't even tried out for the Jounin exams a few weeks ago. Hyuuga Neji and Nara Shikamaru had passed, none else from teams though. But Sakura hadn't even _tried_.

"Yeah. Izanami is the katana." She replied as she scanned him with her verdant eyes.

"Why do you want to spar?" Kakashi wondered, scratching the back of his silver hair with a frown.  
>"Why not? For old times' sake. Maybe a replay of the bell test?" She suggested and he pondered it for a bit in silence, sipped his tea, then he turned his head to her. Her eyes were shining green in expectation.<br>"Are you up for it?" Kakashi's eye crinkled in a hidden, masked smile. He always had the bells on him, as a memento of their first spar with him. He brought the two bells up from his deepest pocket and the two bells chimed together. Sakura looked at the two bells with burning sapphire eyes.

"Are you?" Her smirk turned almost devilish as she finished her tea and stood up. Kakashi followed her example and they left to the training grounds. For old times' sake, they went to training area seven. They stood still, facing each other on the solid ground.

As he fastened the bells to his belt with a tingling sound, he thought about what he'd do after the spar was over. He'd lecture her. He'd pin her to the ground and teach her to respect her elders and to not be over confident in her abilities. She was, after all, still Haruno Sakura, the insignificant third of Team Seven. The one without abilities, the one without blood line heritage, the one without a monster sealed inside her belly. Really, didn't she know enough to just accept her place?

"If I win this spar, Kakashi-sensei, I will take off your mask and stop calling you sensei." Sakura suddenly broke the silence and she watched him with those worn glinting eyes. Kakashi almost felt his mouth open in question, but thought better of it. He'd accept that condition. But then he would have conditions of his own.

"Sure. However, if you lose this spar, you will go to Tsunade and apologise. Find another teacher and be humble. And wait for your team to come back." He said as he watched her reaction. Her facade didn't change and she only widened her grin.

"I won't agree to that last part, but the other first two - yes." She said and cracked her fists loudly.

Kakashi watched her silently and then he sighed. "Alright, Sakura", he said, "Let's spar, then." He disappeared in a puff of smoke when the last syllable left his mouth. He flash stepped to a tree branch nearby where he could see what her next move would be, so he could read his book all the while. But it seemed she had moved away as well, since the training area was empty of pink. He didn't have time to search for her presence or close Icha Icha as he felt something behind him. He swirled out of the way from her fist, down to the ground. A thump behind him told him that she had followed him closely and he had to dodge, fast, when a high kick directed at his head seared past him.

His black eye widened. When had she gained such speed? Kakashi was one of the fastest shinobi in Konoha. And she was almost matching him? When the pink haired girl's eyes flashed green he jumped back to avoid an upper cut, which was followed with a downwards kick. When had she learnt taijutsu to this extent? Her feet met the ground with a pending crack. Then the ground broke. Geysers of dust shot out from the ground as the cracks spread and the entire training area was turned into rocks and cracks. Kakashi had sprinted a bit further away and watched warily the chaos of stones and rubble. Something was wrong. That was inhuman strength. Something flashed on his retina and he was reminded of those black bracelets. He had seen similar bracelets on Gai once.

He ducked when several kunais were shot at him. The explosive tags that were attached exploded as they went over his head, and so he disappeared into the ground with a light jutsu. As he was underneath the ground, in the murkiness of the earth he let himself ponder. He had to re-evaluate everything he knew about her. He went through her abilities in his mind; perfect chakra control, scholastic intelligence, average ninjutsu, genjutsu and fuinjutsu. Weak frame. Medical knowledge and abilities. But that did not define her now. Then suddenly he heard a shout '_under_!' and the ground split and he had to avoid her fists again, so he sprinted up from under the ground. When he saw her sharp eyes between the falling stones, he changed his mind. He'd give her a taste of his real strength, since she was... different.

Kakashi is fast. That, if any ability except for the Sharingan, is what he is good at. One could say excellent, even. He flashed behind her, she stood in the middle of the training grounds which was eerily similar to Naruto's tactic. When she turned around to deliver a blow to his face, he dodged but went with her momentum and in a second, he had her pinned to the ground. Memories flashed in his eyes of that first day of Team Seven. He heard a grunt when the pink haired kunoichi hit the ground, hard. She wriggled, then looked at him through a whirl of pink messy hair which had slipped out from her bun. With hot and jagged and sharp pale emerald eyes she glared at him - but with a hint of smugness, even though he had her pinned to the ground. He couldn't understand, why did it seem like she was... excited? He hardened his grip.

Then he heard a little chuckle as he was about to say that she should give up.

"Maybe it's time to take off the weights." She mumbled, her eyes darkening and her breaths turning slower and deeper underneath him. The blush on her cheeks didn't fade. And then, one click, then two, three, four clicks were heard, snapping the silence each time. Her black bracelets fell to the ground, probably opened by a chakra enhanced lock, and they fell hard and on impact with the ground, small craters exploded where they landed. And as they fell, so did he when she swiped him off his feet. He was fast to roll away on the ground as she continued the assault, even faster and faster, every strike delivered he barely dodged as he was up. She was _faster_.

"Feels like I'm flying." She whispered as she spun around to perform a round house kick. At this, he found himself unable to avoid it, so he blocked it with his arms. But in the last millisecond, she changed the direction of her kick to land in his side. With a cough, he flew several meters away and slid into the ground, gasping, the soil welcoming him. She had successfully broken several ribs in his side and he suspected they were close to puncturing his lung. _What was that_? He was beyond surprised. As he coughed slimy blood onto the ground, he saw in the corner of his eye that she seemed just as surprised as him. She had actually landed a hit on the famous Copy Nin Hatake Kakashi.

At this, he grumbled and rose. He had misjudged her dangerously much. In an instant, he produced several shurikens, ignoring the pain in his side, and cast the deadly projectiles as he ran towards her. She dodged them and ran towards him as well, stepping lightly. When she met him, she gave him a right hook to the face, crumbling it to pieces and shattering his jaw bone. Or well, his clone's jaw bone, as it dispersed in a puff of smoke. He was behind her, an old tactic where he jutsued himself into a shuriken and was left abandoned behind her, and so he kicked her hard in the back. She flew away and he saw how she grimaced in pain, but at the same time she somersaulted through the air and sent kunais his way, which he evaded closely, still too near.

He followed after her as she crashed into the ground and coughed, gasping, but he did not give her mercy. He kicked down, but she rolled away and jumped up, standing defensively with blood smeared on her face. But with green burning eyes. He was after her in a second, darting from side to side to evade the kunais flung at him, and then he was in front of her. Delivering a chakra enhanced punch to her arm, he heard a deafening crack and flesh ripping. He expected her to further the distance with a leap away, or cry, but she stood still. When he retracted his hand, he looked at the mess he made of her arm. It was broken and in pieces, hanging loosely from her shoulder. She grabbed her arm in a grimace to stop the blood flow, but she still stood in front of him. Foolish girl, he thought as he kicked towards her, but somehow she managed to flip around and get close beside him, stretching for one bell at his side with her good arm. But he sprinted away, she following close after. He saw her eyes pierce his, with those little dots of pupils, she looked like a predator.

In a flash she was besides him and delivered a swirling, strong kick to his side. Right on the wound she had inflicted earlier. Kakashi felt another rib break and his internal organs took a real bad toll. He rolled away, coughing, clenching his teeth, as he saw her coming after him. He needed to stall her. So he did, what he had done to no other student before, let out his killing intent. It seeped into the air, bloody and murderous, and reached the girl. Surprised green eyes, when she stopped hesitantly, as she felt how the goose bumps on her flesh told her to run away. A warning. But then, as Kakashi continued to leak his killing intent, she smirked. That girl actually smirked, when she was supposed to cry and fall to the ground and vomit her guts out, she _smirked_?

Then, something pressed into his mind. It started as something cold, then freezing, then it shattered into a million pieces of icicles and he groaned as the headache overthrew him. He felt blood run down in his mind, he felt that he would die today and there was nothing that could prevent it from happening, it was simple fate. He clutched his Sharingan eye, it reacted to the hatred and the blood lust and it was spinning, he huffed and squeezed his eyes shut.

Suddenly, the pressure was gone. He blearily looked up to the kunoichi, since he was sprawled on the ground he noticed, now standing in front of him. He felt warmth spread in his head as the headache slowly dissipated.

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei. My killing intent slipped." She said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head, blood still seeping out from her mouth and her arm hung uselessly at her side. _Killing intent slipped?_ What was this girl on? Kakashi almost sputtered, but then the girl bent down and took one bell with a grin plastered on her bloodied face. When she reached for the other, Kakashi reacted. Almost unconsciously, he activated the chidori and hit the wide eyed girl. It didn't go inside her, but she was flung away by the sheer force of it, still clutching the bell in her grip.

Kakashi realised his mistake and tried to get up, but the pain in his side reminded him of the need to seek medical attention right away, but still he got up and jogged to the slumped kunoichi on the ground, biting back the pain. Sakura still held tight to the bell, even though she seemed unconscious. Kakashi bent down and touched her good shoulder lightly, shaking it however gently.

"Sakura? I'm sorry. Do you hear me? Sakura?" He called and felt fear clench his heart when she didn't respond. What had he done?

"Ugh." A muffled, annoyed sound came from the kunoichi's mouth on the ground. Sakura opened her sharp eyes and looked at him, then smiled a thin smile. She gazed over her shoulder with a frown and then he saw green, healing chakra seep into the wounds, knitting muscles together, coming form her good hand, the one without a scar in the palm. He looked on in silent amazement. He coughed blood, then sniffed as she looked at him.

"I'm sorry Sakura. I shouldn't have taken you so seriously." He said, looking down.

"To fear death is to fear life itself, and to fear life is not to live at all. I needed to test my limits and to stretch them further. That's why I wanted to spar with you. And that's why I'm happy you took me seriously." She breathed, but then she smirked and Kakashi noticed her hand swing in front of his face, holding the bell as it chimed a nostalgic dirge.

"At least I got this one." The Haruno said and grinned, as if it was the happiest day of her life.

"Yes, that is true. You half-won the bet, one could say." He smiled underneath his mask. He had never expected anything like this to go down this day. And she had actually succeeded in snatching one bell from him. Only that, made him look at her even more. In a different light. It wasn't like he had gotten slack. It was her who was different.

"Guess I'll go apologise to Tsunade later today. But since we were even, Kakashi..." Sakura drawled and huffed slightly, her cheeks flushing pink still. Kakashi stood with a hand pressing to the wound she had inflicted in his side. He regretted not having used the Sharingan at this moment, as he grumbled over the wound. The girl stumbled up from her position on the ground, up to him and he almost fell into a defensive position, but the spar was over, so she wouldn't attack him now. When she was close enough for him the feel her jagged hot breath on his skin, her eyes shimmered. In an unexpected movement she had him pinned to the ground in seconds, her knees banging hard into his arms, making him unable to move as she sat on his stomach.

For a second he was afraid she would do something stupid, but then a slender pale hand reached for his face. Slowly, ever so slowly, she hooked her finger into his mask, below his eye. Green eyes burning. And with almost a perverse slowness, she dragged it bit by bit down his face, revealing his high cheek bones and the middle part of his nose. She worried her plump lips, and her eyes grew larger, her black pupils expanding slightly.

Kakashi only stared wide eyed at the woman sitting on him. He couldn't move, he couldn't prevent her. The mask reached under his nose now, her finger trembling slightly in excitement. Then, in one swift movement with her finger, she dragged the mask down completely. Kakashi felt the chilly air blow on his bare skin. But what amused him the most at that very moment was the look on Sakura's face. Her light flush from their spar was replaced with an almost red tinted blush on her cheeks. Her eyes contrasting the blush made them even more sparkling green as she stared wide eyed at his face, her luscious lips parted. Kakashi found himself liking that expression on her face, and so he showed her an arrogant slanted smirk.

"Happy now, Sakura?"

She pushed herself off from him, probably too conscious of the inappropriate position by now, and she staggered away from him, still blushing.

"Jerk." She wheezed through her teeth as she tried to calm down. Kakashi chuckled and rose, but he flinched as the wound in his side made an evil reminder. He almost fell back, but he grit his teeth and rose. Sakura looked at his hand pressing into his side, to stop the blood flow and keep a rib in place. In a flash of pink, she was there, examining his side without looking at his bare, un-masked face. He felt her fingers push away his hand and then the green, healing chakra seeped into his skin, through muscle and bones and started the healing process. His own chakra protested at first, making the two bounce against each other, stretch, but after a while he succeeded in retracting it and letting her do her work.

Kakashi wondered why she didn't do Medic work anymore. Apparently, she was quite good at it. In fact, it had been a long time since he had had a Medic do the work so fast, so fluently and without the pain and stretch of rivalling chakras. She almost made it look easy as she retracted the rib. At that, she looked up at him for a second, maybe searching for signs of pain - but since he had very high pain tolerance, his face remained unchanged. When she looked at him she blushed again and went back to working on his wound. He smirked. So his face had that kind of effect on her, he mused. When she was done, her blush had faded and her eyes glinted hard again. She stepped back to take another look at him, but this time without that blush which had invaded her cheeks before. Now, there was only sadness in her eyes. Or maybe it was nostalgia.

"Wish they had been here to see it." She whispered. And Kakashi agreed silently, knowing the two young men had been trying all of their Genin days to steal his mask. But they weren't here to witness it. He shrugged, and draped the mask over his face again, covering his features. He had a bit of contemplation to do.

What had happened to his sweet pink haired student when he had looked away for a few years? Her eyes were piercing. Visible in her silent movements and in her eyes was a light he hadn't noticed before. And most of all, she had improved. Not only in the physical department, her strategic thinking and logical reasonings had improved as well. He wondered why she hadn't tried out for Jounin, since, because of this spar, he knew she would have passed. Something was off. But maybe it wasn't? Maybe she had changed for the better? He didn't know. He was simply confused, but still kind of satisfied. Satisfied with that she had decided to never be left behind again.

* * *

><p><em>The Powerful Alcoholic Senju Tsunade<em>

Sakura reported regularly about what information she gathered on Danzō's activities. But it was never much, since Danzō was highly secretive and he didn't trust anyone with important information. He was the kind of man that spread only necessary information to certain cells, cells of Root members that didn't know of each other and so couldn't spread the more important information in case of capture. Even though that aspect was quite impossible, since Sakura had reported that in case of capture of a Root member the seal on their tongues would prevent them from mentioning either Danzō's name or the existence of Root. In case of them trying to say anything of the like, they would lapse into a catatonic state of paralysis due to the seal. However, this information was important for Tsunade to know. That way, she could find loopholes in the seal of their tongues. Since Sakura had only sealed a chakra induced contract preventing her from mentioning Danzō or Root, they found ways to evade it. They called Danzō _Mister_ _Shady_ and Root as the _Twigs_. Maybe the names were too similar, but in regard to the two only knowing of the names and they were the only ones exchanging the information, they didn't need lesser inconspicuous code names.

The latest report had been given to her the night before yesterday, when Tsunade and Sakura met in the darkness of the night in the Hokage Tower - since it was the only time of the days they could meet because of Tsunade's meetings and signing of papers, and Sakura's training with Danzō and the ANBU missions. The report had been concise and short, only describing her latest mission with a Root member called Sai. It had been a retrieving mission and a success, with the exception of one attack directed on Sakura because of her presence in the Bingo Books. But she had managed, not going into further detail about how, and they had gotten home mostly uninjured. Tsunade didn't ask further. But she had noted that Sakura had a bandage on her arm, an injury not described in the report. The Godaime guessed a spar, or a training session was the cause of it.

The blond, busty woman pondered for a bit. That list, the check-list Sakura had shown her the other week, was still on her mind. It was engraved, and it stuck like glue on her retina. Then the Godaime realised what it was - the list; it was Sakura's embodiment of the _Will of Fire_. Her goal, the overall goal of her list, was to protect Konoha. It was to assist the continuation of the village and its spirit. Sakura had never stopped looking at her comrades and she was willing to sacrifice her own life for them. That was what Tsunade had understood when she had read the list. And in that moment of realisation she felt so proud of the girl she almost puffed her chest too much.

And yet, that nagging feeling of possible failure haunted her thoughts. What if Sakura failed? What would she do? And if, she actually did accomplish her goals, what was her next step in life? Tsunade had seen how indulged the girl was with her goals, she wondered if she would feel a sense of emptiness once the goals were done. She most probably would. The Godaime sighed deeply and took a swig of the saké bottle, but the taste didn't please her for once. Frowning, she put the saké bottle back into the hidden drawer in her desk. It was always a task to find new hiding places for her saké bottles, away from Shizune's scrutinising and probing eyes.

Tsunade cracked her neck with a light movement. That girl just proved herself to be more and more of everything, all the way from being useful, to complex, to hard to understand yet so interesting it almost made Tsunade irritated. She was so ever changing as well. In one moment, she seemed like the same girl who had strutted into her office and asked her to take her on as an apprentice, the other she seemed like an old withered war veteran - looking at the world with worn, weary eyes. Tsunade wondered when the girl would finally find herself; when she would be pleased with who she was.

* * *

><p><em>The Snotty Brat Sarutobi Konohamaru<em>

This was the worst day of his entire life. No matter how hard he tried, it didn't work. The affinity paper in the palm of his hand didn't budge, didn't move, and it just lay there - endlessly mocking him for his non-existent affinity. Ebisu had told them in class today had explained the affinities water, fire, earth and wind, and Konohamaru knew there were a few affinity papers available in the Hokages office. He had snuck there sometimes when his grandfather was alive, even though he had been shunned away so many times, he had seen the affinity papers. So yes, he had stolen a few affinity papers, but he was just borrowing them for a longer period of time.

So when he sat in the dark alley in a corner of Konoha, trying his hardest to make the paper burn, or soak, or turn into wood, or split in half, it didn't work. He felt the slight burning behind his eyes start and he couldn't help it as he started sobbing helplessly, clutching one paper in his hand hard. He couldn't be any less of a shinobi than Oya-bun. He just couldn't. And that blond awesome man, who however had left him to rot in Konoha all alone, had told him that he had the affinity for wind and so he could do cool jutsus, like the powerful Rasengan. Konohamaru knew that there weren't a lot of shinobi that actually had affinities, but all the same, he couldn't see himself _not_ having it. So with tears in his eyes, still sobbing, he tried again. From what he had heard in class that day, one was supposed to stare at the paper, meditate and push chakra into the paper. As Konohamaru did, the paper combusted due to too much chakra infused and he retracted his hand, wincing. But he grit his teeth, snot hanging from his nose though he didn't care. He would have an affinity! He just knew he had one. It was the stupid paper that didn't work.

"You alright there, brat?" A voice interrupted his inner cussing and he looked up in surprise. A woman stood in front of him, her face shadowed due to the sun shining behind her, making her long pink hair luminous as she bent down. Even in the shade of her face, her green eyes clearly looked at him and seemed to pierce his heart. Konohamaru felt snot cling to his upper lip and he was fast to wipe it away in embarrassment.

"You-you! Aren't you the gorilla girl on Oya-bun's team?" He declared, though when he looked at her now, she was nothing like a gorilla. She was a beautiful girl.

"Gorilla?" The pink haired kunoichi snorted. "You're Konohamaru, right? You got close to Naruto, huh." She smiled and Konohamaru felt his hand clench the paper in his hand harder. He didn't answer her, only looked away, pouting.

"Affinity papers? That's why you're crying, brat?" She noted the papers besides him, all crumpled or combusted in his chakra induced anger.

"I'm not crying!" He thrashed and sniffed angrily.  
>"I know, I know." She smirked and sat down besides him on the dirty ground, to his surprise. She snatched one paper from the pile, observing it in silence. Konohamaru sniffed, not really knowing what to do. Her gleaming green eyes shone in the shafts of sun light let in to the alley.<p>

"I can see you've combusted a lot of them. Some papers seem untouched by your chakra, even though they're crumpled. I can see you're having problem balancing your chakra induction." She said as she observed the paper in her hand. "You need to be careful, and not let emotions get into your head when you're searching for your affinity in these papers."

"But I'm doing it right! It's just the stupid papers that doesn't work!" Konohamaru shouted, anger clouding his mind. He didn't want to be weak! But when he looked besides him to her, her eyes made his heart stop for a moment. It was like they bore a hole through his head, with sapphire like hardness and coldness. He almost whimpered, as he took in her sharp glare. It was like she told him to shut up and calm down. So he did. He breathed, counted to ten in his head, and his clenched fist relaxed, letting the paper go.

"Now, here." The pink haired kunoichi said as she opened his hand and let an unused paper fall on his palm. "Your chakra - see it as a stream, running in currents through your body. It's a part of you. And when you let your chakra go, let it go slowly. Let it fill the paper with a part of you. Slowly, there. You got it." She said and Konohamaru closed his eyes and he felt his chakra seep into the paper, slowly, carefully. He felt the paper move. The grandson of the former Hokage opened his eyes and saw that the paper had split in half.

"Wind! I got wind!" He cheered, tears almost gathering in his eyes again. "I'm going to beat Oya-bun and become the most awesome Hokage ever!"

The woman besides him smiled and her green eyes gleamed. He didn't think they were so scary anymore.

"Nee-chan, nee-chan! Aren't I awesome?" He asked her and grinned.

"Wasn't it gorilla before?" She smirked. "Yeah, it's great. Not many ninjas have affinities. Congratulations, brat."

"Thanks, Nee-chan! Now it's your turn!" Konohamaru pushed one paper affinity into her palm. There was a hideous, pink horizontal scar across her palm where the paper landed. Konohamaru didn't see it as ugly though; many strong shinobi wore their scars proudly. She seemed to do the same, so he respected her for it.

"I had no response last time I tried." The kunoichi smiled, with a dip of sadness in her voice.

"But maybe it has changed?" Konohamaru tried.  
>"Affinities don't change, brat. Nor the inability to have one. See?" She said crookedly and he saw how she pushed chakra into the paper. The scar seemed to almost glow for a second when the chakra induced paper touched it, but then it vanished. A few moments went by and the woman only looked knowingly at Konohamaru. As if she herself had hoped that something would have happened.<p>

"I better get going. See you around, brat." She said shortly and rose up from besides him.  
>"B-but-"<br>"It didn't work. So, see you." She almost snapped, but gave him a thin smile as well and then disappeared up on the roof tops. Konohamaru only looked at the place she had been a few seconds before, when he saw a movement in the corner of his eye. The paper that the kunoichi had held in her hand moved. With wide eyes, he stared at it. It just... moved. Shook, almost. He didn't know of any affinity that made the paper shake. Suddenly, the paper combusted. It split in half, was soaking wet, then it crumbled like earth from the form and it took on fire but didn't burn up. Then what was left of the paper bled and rotted.

Staring at the bleeding paper, Konohamaru didn't understand what had just happened. What kind of affinity... Or rather, was it all of the affinities combined together that he had witnessed? Konohamaru grumbled as he scooped up the bleeding paper and put it in his pocket. He'd ask one of his classmates to investigate on the paper, one of which he knew was the daughter of the Affinity Paper Maker in the village. A bleeding paper? Who was that gorilla girl?

* * *

><p><em>The Prodigy Hyuuga Neji<em>

He caught her on the street. With whirling pink hair, she turned around to face him when he had called her name. She smiled as she saw him and the Nara walking up towards her on the street, greeting them in return. She wore her black turtle neck top and black hakamas, and she had that cursed sword strapped on her back. It seemed she had just gotten back from one of her visits to Tajima in the later afternoon. A new weapon was probably safely stuffed and sealed in the scroll on her hip.

"You're coming with us." The Nara told her and she smiled as he grumpily went up to her.

"Is that so, little Jounins?" She said and posed with her hand on her hip while smirking. She looked dangerously much like the Godaime in the moment, quirky and cocky.

"We know you don't have any missions today and you have no training scheduled. So, you're coming with us." Neji said and took a gentle hold of her arm, dragging her with him. She didn't disobey, she only looked on with sapphire eyes, and let the two men drag her with them to the Hyuuga Mansion. When they got to the Hyuuga Main house, she was greeted by Lee, Tenten, Ino, Hinata, Kiba, Shino and Choji with a banner and presents.

"Congratulations on turning 16, fartface!" Ino cheered and flung herself on top of the pink haired girl, who acted surprised as she fell down.

"Thanks, Ino-pig." She said as she hugged the blond back, in a heap on the ground. They then celebrated Sakura with a few presents and saké in the late afternoon. She got an exquisite white comb from Ino, which could turn into a butterfly knife if infused with chakra. Sakura gladly accepted it and commented on the cleverness. Ino beamed.

She received a necklace from Lee, it was an unusually pretty necklace with one black magatama in the middle of the thin chain. None had expected Lee to give something like it, but when Sakura accepted the necklace she almost fell to the ground with a shout. Neji smirked; of course, it was a necklace weighing a ton. That explained things. Sakura laughed and said it was a good and pretty gift.

She got a guandao from Tenten, a large pole-like weapon similar to a fauchard. It consisted of a heavy blade with a spike at the back, having irregular serrations that lead the back edge of the blade to the spike. The blade was mounted at the top of a long wooden pole with a pointed metal counter weight used to balance the heavy blade and for striking on the opposite end. It had a clear crimson red sash attached at the joint of the pole and the blade. The blade was deeply curved, much like the shape of a reclining moon. Tenten described it as a weapon used for sweeping cuts where it relies on range and power, and that the considerable weight of the weapon made it a good form of training for the overall conditioning of the body. Sakura was pleased and thanked Tenten.

Several other presents later, Sakura had so many gifts surrounding her she almost disappeared in a flurry of medical scrolls and weapons.

Sakura thanked them all yet again. When they finished up, people left one after another as the night crept into the disappearing day. Until there was only Sakura, Neji and Shikamaru left in one of the Hyuuga Mansions many rooms. The Nara nodded towards Neji, signalling that it was time. Neji smirked and produced his and the Nara's gift for the girl.

"Happy birthday, Sakura." Neji said and gave her the present. Green eyes inspected the gift for a second before she accepted it, turning it around.

"A scroll?" The pinkette asked, smiling.  
>"Yeah, I found it in the back of the Hyuuga's library. None has used it for centuries, so I took it. I think it's an animal summoning scroll."<p>

"Yeah, we know you don't have any animal summoning contracts yet, so we thought this would be a good idea. Even though we don't really know what it is." Shikamaru added, looking at Neji. "Was it a kitten?"  
>"No, I don't think so. Maybe a lion, or some kind of feline." Neji mused and Sakura only stared at the two of them.<br>"Neji, wait. Wait. You stole it?"

"Doesn't matter. It's yours now." The prodigy said and cocked his head. The girl wheezed, closing her eyes in a frown.

"You'll be in a lot of trouble if you're found out." She said, concern visible in her eyes.  
>"I'll deal with that if it even happens." Neji replied and smiled. Sakura shook her head but grinned.<p>

"Thank you. I'm so happy." She grinned, looked at the scroll in her hands and then her eyes went distant.

"Hm. Byakko, now is it?" Sakura said dreamily as she looked at the withered scroll. "I hope Genbu and Suzaku will accept you."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

Hi peeps!

I'm so so so sorry. I can't write fighting scenes, at all. Maybe in ten, twenty years but definitely not now. Oh, beta reader saviour, where art thou? And maybe I took a leap of faith with Kakashi, I don't know. It was fun to write, either way.

I have no idea when to write the next chapter, life right now is choking me. So many shoulds, woulds and coulds. So bear with me peeps, I'll come back soon!

Love, Fascalia


	9. Colours

**Transition**

Sakura is perceived from the perspectives of others as she changes during the years into something else entirely. The people near her follows her transition closely and when she starts abandoning everything she held dear - she gets closer and closer to her goal.  
>Non-Canon, Sakura-centric

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Oh, shoot. You guys. This just got to be 11,406 words. Sorry! I got ahead of myself because of the latest ****fkn awesome reviews. Couldn't contain myself. So here you go. A little essay almost. Of 11,406 words.**

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><p>Chapter 9<p>

Through the Eyes of a Black Widow, a Man of Shadows and a Merchant

* * *

><p><em>The Black Widow Shizune<em>

Shizune had no idea what the girl was thinking. She was starting to question the Haruno's mental health, really. Even though the girl had scored perfectly well as a mentally stable shinobi on the regular psychological tests which were required for every shinobi to perform at least once a year, yet Shizune still pondered the possibility of mental issues.

In a little hospital room which was not regularly used Shizune herself, the Haruno girl and Nara Shikamaru huddled together in the small space. Sakura sat on the hospital bed with two vials in her hands, her eyes as steely with determination as ever. Though, Shizune saw, she had not had enough sleep for at least a week. Dark circles under her eyes told Shizune of it, as plain evidence. The Nara mumbled in the corner about this being too troublesome, yet Shizune saw that he wanted to be there. The black haired kunoichi frowned as she stood in front of the girl. But she was actually kind of interested in the girl's experiment, so that was why she found herself attending.

"So this is what will happen. I will insert these vials into my blood stream. The first vial with blue liquid is a regular truth serum with a bit of modulations to the formula I performed in the lab yesterday; after days of constant research of course. I believe the truth serum will work on me, even though I have been trained to not give in to these kind of serums. The second vial with a white liquid contains two different poisons which I have blended together, with your helpful guidance of course, Shizune. I am really grateful for your help, thank you. It's one poison I exerted from a frog and one from a poisonous tarantula from the Forest of Death. Now, what I wish to acquire from this experiment is to make myself rendered listless and whatever I say, it will be true. I have given you the question sheet, Shika. You will act as the interrogator during the experiment. Shizune, if you will, please take notes of what happens to me in medical terms. As well, please make sure I don't die. It would be most inconvenient."

"Inconvenient my _ass_." Shikamaru grumbled from the corner. Sakura smiled gently.

"These truth serum vials were requested from T&I a week ago to the Poison Unit at the hospital, and I took it upon myself to try to make a serum that will make interrogation much less... hard work, if you will. This serum should make prisoners or spies let information flood from their mouths much easier than if their limbs were cut off or if their minds were invaded by a Yamanaka - which all takes a bit of time and unnecessary tools. Time is precious to a shinobi, as you two should know. However, this is the best outcome only, and it's not even certain that it will work." Sakura said and sighed deeply, preparing herself mentally probably. Shizune knew that this experiment very well could end badly for the girl. Yet that stubborn girl had refused to test it on prisoners. She had told them that she wanted to feel what they would feel.

"I'm ready. Are you prepared?" She asked and looked first at Shizune, then at Shikamaru who moved to stand in front of the kunoichi with the sheet of questions in his hand.

"Yeah. And you're stupid." He grumbled, but he still didn't hinder her when she inserted the first vial into her arm. The truth serum. Shizune watched warily as the girl's eyes shimmered blankly when the liquid ran in her blood stream and she dropped the empty vial on the bed. She wobbled slightly, but steadied herself. Her eyes were cloudy.

"Shizune. Can you insert the last vial? I'm not sure I will be able to... prick the right vein." Sakura slurred as the effects of the serum seeped further in her blood stream. Shizune huffed and snatched the white liquid vial from the bed, took a hard hold of the girl's arm and inserted the needle into the bend of her arm and pushed it gently. The white liquid was pressed into the blue vein in her creamy arm. For a moment, the pink haired kunoichi's eyes turned paler, but then they were green and unseeing again. Shikamaru looked on, warily and concerned.

Shizune sat beside the girl on the bed to steady her. Suddenly, the girl grimaced in pain. The poisons seemed to have worked perfectly. The Haruno bit hard on her lip to keep from screaming, biting so hard the skin on her lips broke and blood trailed down her chin. Shizune dabbed the blood away with a tissue as the girl rocked back and forth, her eyes squeezed shut. Shikamaru gripped the paper in his hand hard. He looked at Shizune, questioning her silently if he should start or if they should extract the poison in her veins right away. Shizune inspected the girl, let her hands run across her back. She found the poisons making their way to her brain. Shizune knew the theoretical aspect of it; when the poison reached her brain circuits, the pain would subdue. However, if she answered one question which wasn't true to herself, the pain would explode in her head.

"I think it's fine so far. Wait one minute." Shizune said soothingly, rubbing the girl's back. Sakura clenched her fists in her lap, obviously suffering silently to not scare the two of them. Though that wasn't really necessary, since the two were already concerned as it was. Then, the girl slumped. Her shoulders relaxed and Shizune knew the poisons had reached her brain. The black haired medic held the antidote in her hand, ready to insert it when ten minutes had gone by. If she didn't insert the antidote, the poisons in her brain would expand and make the girl brain dead. And that was the least possible worst scenario.

"Now." Shizune whispered. Shikamaru cleared his throat and looked at Sakura, who dazedly met his gaze. He worried his lip before he asked the first question on the sheet.

"What is your name?"

"Haruno Sakura." She answered, and her voice was surprisingly clear.

"How old are you?"  
>"Sixteen since two weeks ago."<p>

"Where were you born?"  
>"Konohagakure village." She replied and her green murky eyes were glazed, yet her voice was so apparent and void of uncertainty it surprised both of them. Shizune noted the brain activity in the girl when she grazed her head with probing chakra in her fingers, and then noted a few medical scribbles on the paper block she had been given.<p>

"What is your favourite food?"

"Syrup coated anko dumplings." Sakura answered and Shikamaru almost smiled. Shizune knew why; that favourite food was so not... Sakura.

"Who is our Hokage?"  
>"Senju Tsunade."<p>

"What is your greatest regret?" Shikamaru asked, frowning at this. This was a personal question and it might happen that she would lie. He watched her.

"My inability to act." She answered, her head almost bobbing to one side, but Shizune straightened her up.

"What does- wait. I can't ask this!" Shikamaru watched the question sheet in horror. Shizune raised an eyebrow. Was it something embarrassing perhaps?

"Just do it. She gave you the list, right? It's supposed to make her lie." Shizune said and rubbed the girl's back in circles. Shikamaru stared at the paper, swallowed, then looked into the Haruno's blank eyes.

"What does your contract with Izanami state?" He asked lowly, biting his lip as he waited for her reaction. Shizune absentmindedly wondered who Izanami was. It sounded like a contractor of some sort, she pondered as she noted the sudden brain activity within the girl's brain. The Haruno's eyes flashed.

"I-I am.. I am to...k-" The kunoichi huffed as she stuttered, her eyes swimming as she pressed the words out of her mouth with great effort. Shizune was alarmed as the poisons inside her brain stirred and started to invade her sensory nerves. Shizune bit her lips as she knew what this would do to the girl's pain receiving nerves in her central nerve system. With a scream, the girl fell onto the bed, sweating and squealing and squeezing her eyes shut as the pain inside her head took over her body. Shikamaru stood still, speechless. Shizune was fast to take a hold of the girl as she shook and screeched.

"I-I can't!" She shouted and screamed, wriggling in Shizune's grip, thrashing on the bed. When Shizune produced the antidote and pressed it into the vein in her neck, she heard the girl whisper something almost inaudible, with a raspy voice, before her eyes fluttered shut.

"... Thousand men." She whispered and then passed out. Shizune pulled out the rest of the poisons in her veins and tried to extract some from her brain, but it was difficult since she needed to seep the chakra filled with poison out from her ear opening. The poison's expert didn't ponder on what the girl had said, since it seemed to be simple ramblings on her delirious part.

Shikamaru almost fell to the floor in relief, Shizune saw in the corner of her eye, when Haruno passed out and stopped screaming. He went up beside the bed and checked the girl's forehead, stating she had a high fever but with a look at Shizune, he knew she'd be fine. He huffed.

"That insane girl. Neji would kill me if he knew about this. At least the serum worked." He muttered and waved farewell, taking the question sheet with him. Shizune nodded and refocused on the girl. She determined the activity in her brain was stable for now. She wrinkled her nose, the girl was clever but sometimes she wondered if there was a more complex side to her cleverness. She had succeeded in making a truth serum which prevented shinobi from lying, by punishing them every time they lied with indescribable pain directed into their nerve system by the two poisons interacting with the truth serum. But why had she felt the need to lie about a contract?

* * *

><p><em>The Man of Shadows Shimura Danzō<em>

The day slowly went by until the sun was gone from the sky, and was replaced with stars and a reclining, thin and luminous moon. Danzō wandered through the starkly lit corridors of T&I, heading for the Poison's interrogation chamber. He had been waiting for this day; the day the Haruno's first torture would take place. He wondered how she would react after, if she would be capable of executing the atrocities necessary to doom the spy with. He had warned her before hand, two weeks ago, so she could prepare herself mentally for the torture as well as research on different torturing methods.

When he reached the Poison's chamber, there was a scream heard coming from inside the door. He opened the heavy metal door with a heavy clink, and strolled inside the dark room. A man hung from heavy chains in the middle of the room, the chains chafing his wrists bloody and inflamed. The man hung without his feet touching the ground, without a shirt one could see his torso was bloodied and bruised, his dirty head lolling on his chest. It seemed he was unconscious. Three T&I interrogators stood in front of the man, one held a whip, one held a kunai and one held a large bat. The three looked up with pondering expressions as they saw Danzō entering.

Danzō searched the room for the Haruno. He found her standing a few feet away with a blank expression on her face, donning the ANBU guise. Danzō watched with slight confusion as the girl seemed to not have partaken in the torture. She stood very still.

"Danzō-sama." The three interrogators greeted him, their creased brows questioning somewhat. Maybe questioning his presence in T&I. But that would be confusing, since he had filed a request to attend this certain torture session. Or rather, he did have permission to go anywhere within Konoha. He had after all access everywhere.

"Good evening." Danzō returned, yet he walked up to the Haruno. She nodded in a respectful silent greeting. Her green eyes met his, they were dim in the darkness of the Poison's chamber, her white blank mask fastened to the side of her pink head. She wasn't required to hide her facial features inside T&I, he had told her two weeks ago. The mask would only work as a shield towards the prisoner, hiding her from her own actions against him. Not letting her face him full on. It would have hindered her from seeing his pained expressions clearly.

"Why are not Sen partaking in questioning the prisoner?" His voice, filled with authority, rumbled through the dirty chamber. The interrogators flinched.

"But she's just a _girl_!" The one holding the bloodied kunai said, his eyes darting once to Haruno, then back to Danzō.

"I don't even know how she got a pass card to T&I. Or the access passport to this room." One interrogator grumbled, swatting the bat to clear the blood away from it. Blood splattered on the ground.

"I gave it to her. This is her prisoner to question." Danzō's clear voice cut through their mumblings.

"Oh, Danzō-sama. I see. I apologise. We must have missed receiving this information." The interrogator with a kunai bowed, then moved to a metallic table to put down the kunai. The others bowed as well, then placed their torturing tools on the table as well.

"Let her through." Danzō said through clenched teeth. The three interrogators unwillingly let her step up to the man. Haruno walked casually in front of the man.

"What do we have on him?" She asked as she examined his half dead body, trailing her hands along the bleeding slashes caused by the whip.

"Almost nothing." One interrogator mumbled. "ANBU found him spying on the Hokage in her office. He had his presence masked very well, so it had taken a while for ANBU to discover him. When they found him, he had tried to commit suicide by slashing his throat open with a kunai. But one ANBU got to him before he could do it. He was rendered incapacitated and was brought here directly. We have tried to make him spit which village or for whom he works for, but he hasn't said a word in fucking five hours." The interrogator spat on the ground, seemingly growing more frustrated.

"Well, he did say we were all going to die before he passed out." One interrogator added, smiling grimly. Danzō almost raised an eyebrow.

"I see." The Haruno said and went back to her black bag. She produced three vials with different colours of liquid inside. The interrogators watched her warily. Poisons had to be handled with great care and expertise, or the prisoner would die. The Haruno walked up the hanging man and with her left hand started healing the man's wounds on his back. Gasps were heard from the interrogators, objecting her foolish actions loudly, but Danzō raised a hand to stop them from rushing to the girl. They froze.

"Wait. Let us see what happens." Danzō guessed and smirked. From what he knew of Haruno Sakura, she was not a merciful shinobi. There had to be a reason behind her healing the hanging man.

The Haruno didn't even seem to notice the seething, red-faced interrogators. She continued healing the prisoner's broken bones, his bleeding wounds and even the whip slashes on his back and head. When she was finished, the green healing chakra coming to a stop, there was a light sheen of sweat on her arms. It must have taken a lot of her chakra to heal the broken man, Danzō knew. If anything, she was an excellent shinobi. Her only fault was her chakra sources, which were small.

The kunoichi with ANBU clothes then produced one of the three vials. She inserted it into his neck and with a gasp as she pressed it, the man shot his head up from his chest and his eyes were wide eyed as he rocked back and forth from the sudden movement. He skimmed the room with blood shot eyes, his pupils having expanded visibly, and then he found the kunoichi in front of him. He looked down on his body, the dislodged sockets in his arms seemingly not disturbing him, seeing his torso healed and as good as if it had been left untouched. His eyes then went up to meet the pink haired ANBU in front of him, eyeing her suspiciously. He said nothing.

Sakura checked his eyes, noted that he was conscious and the adrenaline in his blood stream was maintained. She turned around to meet the gazes of the men in the room.

"I gave him adrenaline. This serum will make him stay awake for the next three hours by levelling his adrenaline levels, no matter how much pain he will go through he will stay awake. It will make it a lot easier to interrogate him." She explained and the men in the room nodded absentmindedly. Danzō approved of her way of thinking. It was not something new, adrenaline being used to make the prisoners stay awake, but three hours had not been heard of before.

"I assume you have made changes to the adrenaline serum? Is that wise?" On interrogator asked, his dark blue eyes looking at the ANBU warily.

"It is wise, since I have enough knowledge about serums and poisons to do it." She said, green eyes piercing the blue eyed man. "I was the apprentice of the Hokage for one year. She taught me a lot of useful concoctions before she dismissed me." The girl blatantly confessed, earning surprised faces of the interrogators. They remained silent after this. The Haruno then resumed to inspect the man by turning around her attention, her hands running across his sweating body. It seemed she determined there was no changes in his heart beat and that the adrenaline insertion had worked.

"These," she said as she picked up the two last vials, "are a successful experiment I researched and made during the last two weeks. The first vial, the one containing the blue liquid, is a truth serum. The second, the one with the white liquid, contains two mixed poisons. They will interact well with each other and blend accordingly."

She didn't turn around as she continued talking, inserting the blue liquid into the prisoner's neck. The man hanging by his wrists tried to wriggle away, but he couldn't. Her grip was hard on his arm as she pressed the last of the blue truth serum into his blood stream. The man's eyes widened, then blurred and it seemed like he had turned blind. His expression relaxed and his mouth opened in listlessly. He shrunk in his hanging position and his head tilted to his arm for support.

"Most shinobi have gained a resistance towards truth serums." The blue eyed interrogator questioned. Danzō saw the man frown, folding his arms over his chest.

"I have modulated this one a bit. Together with the poisons, he won't be able to do anything else but tell us the truth." Sakura replied and the prisoner grimaced. It seemed the hanging man had realised the dire situation he was in, Danzō thought with a grim smirk.

"I don't like this." The prisoner wheezed, his voice thin and rough from not having been used for hours. The interrogators drew a deep breath. The prisoner had actually talked.

"You might want to cover your ears." The Haruno directed the hint to the interrogators, who only showed her slightly puzzled looks. She sighed and then gripped the last vial, the one with the milky liquid, and pushed it into the prisoner's neck. When she pulled it out, there was an oppressing silence pressing the room. The hanging man's eyes widened so much Danzō thought they might plop out. In a withheld breath, they waited for his response. And then it came.

The man screamed, and screamed so loudly even Danzō felt his eardrums vibrate painfully. The agony and terror in the hitched screams and sobs made the other men in the room flinch. What kind of poison could make a man scream like that? It sounded almost animalistic, with rough screeching and high pitched squeals in a chaotic cacophony of suffering. The man didn't cry, he only screamed, squeezing his eyes shut as he rocked back and forth, stretching against the chains chafing his raw skin. The blisters on his wrists started to bleed against the metal chains.

The pink haired ANBU only looked at the distressed man who sounded like he was dying. Danzō noted the grimness of her having inserted adrenaline into the man. It meant the prisoner could not pass out, none the matter the overwhelming pain his brain seemed to receive. It was clever. But he had yet to see it functioning.

The Haruno girl walked up to the man and stretched her hands up to his head, only to let her fingers touch his temples on either side. Then glowing chakra seeped from her fingers into his head. The T&I interrogators watched her.

"Explain. What is happening to the prisoner? I hope he is not dying." One seethed through clenched teeth. The other nodded in agreement.

"He is not dying. I'm pressing his sensory nerves in the temple that sends jolts of pain reduction into his body, since the poisons are making their way up to his brain. The pain and screaming will subdue when the poisons reaches the central nerve system in his brain. Right now though, he feels like he's burning up. And maybe that someone is shattering his bones and skinning his flesh, I don't know particularly what he is feeling. But that's how I felt when I tried it." She explained as the screaming started to fade, but his eyes were still squeezed shut. He shook as he hung from the chains.

"Wait a minute. You tried a _torturing_ technique on _yourself_?" One interrogator blurted.

"Yes? How else would I know that it would work?" She answered, without turning her back to look at them. The hanging man coughed, and the screams faded to a stop. He was sweating profusely but he cracked his glazed eyes open.

"Test it instead on a prisoner, for god's sake." The blue eyed interrogator countered, snorting. Yet his eyes watched her warily.

"That is unnecessary. A prisoner who is not meant to be interrogated should not be rendered a mere test subject."

"You are one strange kunoichi. Now, try making him talk. None of us succeeded before you, so I swear I'll eat my own bandana if you are able to make him talk." The interrogator spat on the ground. His bandana covering his hair was quite thick and grey.

"That's a bet." She smirked as she pressed her fingers into the prisoner's temple again, concentrating as she closed her eyes with a frown. The man had stilled and his eyes were open, unseeing and shining.

"Who are you?" The ANBU asked her first question. The men waited in appreciation, the silence heavy in the interrogation room. Then, after a few seconds, the hanging man looked at the kunoichi and answered her.  
>"Nakara Yukiko." The man answered and one interrogator scrambled to the metal table and got hold of a pen and a paper, fast scribbling down the acquired information. Danzō blinked. The man didn't seem to be lying. He was telling the truth, maybe because of the truth serum with modifications. Maybe the poisons made him talk as well? Danzō didn't know the more medical aspects of it, but he was mesmerised all the same.<br>"How old are you?" Sakura continued, still holding her fingers at his temples.  
>"Twenty six years old this April."<p>

"What is your favourite food?"  
>"Omusubi with okaka."<p>

"Wait. Why are these questions necessary?" The interrogator with the paper looked up with a confused face. The Haruno sighed and turned around to pierce his eyes with her own.

"It is part of the procedure." She wheezed and then turned back to the dreamy looking prisoner and spy.

"Who was your first love?" She asked, her eyes set on his facial features as she let her fingers probe his brain activity.  
>"Masahi Hijikata."<p>

"Where were you born?"  
>"In Rain Country." The man drawled and the interrogators, as well as Danzō himself, made a mental note. The country had recently been ravished by a rebellion and a new leader had taken on the mantle of protecting its people. Very little was known about this man, but not many considered Rain Country as a possible threat. They were known for always being in the middle of two villages or countries clashing together, leaving Rain Country in ruins.<p>

"Which weapon do your prefer?" The pinkette continued to press as she bit her lip.  
>"Kunai." The prisoner drawled as he looked at her with unseeing eyes.<p>

"Who do you look up to the most?" The woman asked, this time Danzō knew it was a good question. Often times, shinobi respected their leader and looked up to them.  
>"Pein-sama." When the man answered this, Sakura's eyes snapped open.<p>

"Who is Pein-sama?" She asked carefully, not letting her voice drop tempo or change.

"Our beloved leader, our saviour. He will make peace to our filthy world." The man declared, admiration visible in his raspy voice. The interrogators mumbled amongst themselves, but Sakura hushed them.

"What does he look like?" She asked as her eyes watched him calmly.

"He has many faces." The man answered dreamily, not really answering her question. Sakura irritably wiped sweat off her forehead, breathed, then continued.

"Would you describe one face?"  
>"Yes." He said, and nothing more. This puzzled the girl until she realised there were limits to the truth serum and the poisons combined. She pressed her fingers lightly against his temple.<p>

"Describe one of his faces." She changed the question.  
>"He has carrot coloured hair. His eyes are a divine colour of violet and there are circles delving deeper into the middle of his pupil. He has many black piercings adorning his godly features. He dons a black cloak with red clouds sewn at the hem. And-"<br>"Wait. Describe the cloak again." Sakura's eyes widened as she asked, her voice almost trembling. The men in the room were silent. The trade mark red clouds. Everyone knew what that could mean.

"The cloak is black and long, it covers most of the body. There are several scarlet coloured clouds, looking like they were drawn traditionally, which are sewn at the hem of the cloak. It is the cloak that defines the beloved and powerful Gods of our Country."

"What... are the gods of your country called?" Sakura's voice didn't tremble, but excitement was visible in her body language as she leaned closer to the man with glazed eyes.

"_Akatsuki_."

Danzō snapped his head up. Akatsuki? The old war veteran took in this information slowly, as he deliberated. Had their organisation taken over a whole country? The possibility existed, yet it was hard to believe. Danzō felt his heart thump one extra beat. He had the knowledge of the Akatsuki leader's name - Pein. And he had the knowledge of their base - Rain Country. All this, thanks to the pink haired kunoichi. Information was power, and she held it securely in her hand. The interrogators shuffled around worriedly, chattering amongst themselves. Only Danzō heard Sakura continue the flurry of questions.

"What colour did your mother have on her hair?" The ANBU asked the hanging man lowly.  
>"Brown." He answered, a faint smile on his lips.<p>

"What was your mission in Konohagakure village?" Sakura asked the last important question. Danzō's ears perked.

"To-to gather... I-in..." The man stuttered suddenly, then he violently shook. Sakura took a step back as he started swinging his body in pain and then he started screaming again. He had tried to lie. Danzō thought the man was only to blame himself for it. The poisons in the man's brain stirred and created chaos, the man's nerves were probably set on fire and Danzō could see the internal fight of the man. The fight between life and death battling inside him.

The ANBU sighed and then produced a fourth vial. Danzō guessed it was some kind of antidote, and so he flash-stepped to stand beside her. His hand holding her arm down, preventing her form using the antidote. The look in Danzō's eye probably told the girl enough, since she obeyed and put the antidote back inside her bag. The prisoner hanging from metallic chains in the roof screamed one last time.

"Nakara Yukiko. Confirmed dead. Number... one hundred sixty eight." The ANBU kunoichi mumbled as the hanging man collapsed, his head lolling on his chest as it had done when he had been unconscious. The only difference being now, that he was forever asleep. Danzō didn't really understand the number she had announced, but he thought it didn't matter.

The shinobi in the room filtered out, the interrogators to call for clean up and one to run to the archives of received information with what they had gathered from the shinobi of Rain. Tsunade would know about the incident within a few minutes, Danzō presumed. The Haruno looked absentmindedly away into the depths of the corridor, her eyes being distant. Danzō recalled his first torture session in T&I. He hadn't felt bad about the torturing, but he hadn't felt good about it either. He had been quite indifferent.

"Haruno. Come with me." Danzō said sternly and walked to the staircase of the far end of the corridor. The kunoichi let nothing show on her face, yet he could tell she was confused. They walked down it and found themselves in a cellar. It stank of rotting flesh. Danzō continued through the cells of T&I and when they had walked farthest away in the corridors, they went inside an old cell at a corner. It was dirty, and rats scurried past their feet when they moved inside. Danzō performed a seal and a few hand signs, too quick for the girl to see, and then a door appeared in the cell. Danzō tried the handle and walked inside as the door creaked open, followed closely by the kunoichi.

They stood in a windy space. It was old and ancient almost, Danzō knew, and last time he had been here he had tried to summon an old Heavenly Animal King. It hadn't worked and it had left him with large and deep claw marks on his skin, which he covered with bandages to hide the hideous proof of his failure and weakness. Danzō found the old powerful scroll right where he had left it so many years ago. The altar, in the middle of the large space, seemed almost to glow as they neared it. The withered scroll lay elegantly on the marble altar. Sakura looked at it with respect and admiration with wide eyes, and Danzō was pleased at this. She seemed to know about the Heavenly Animal scrolls, of which the majority of the shinobi population did not.

"I attempted to summon this Animal King twelve years ago. I failed. But I believe you might be able to summon it." Danzō cleared his throat and looked at the kunoichi. Her eyes shone in the dim light of the fires at the sides of the room. "However, it is your choice. I barely survived trying to summon it, and I received these in the process."

Danzō slowly removed the bandage on his head. He revealed the large claw marks and Sakura almost gasped he saw, but she bit it down. Danzō knew they were deep and tinted with red blotches, since they had ravaged his head in an almost unrepairable way. The Haruno discerned the claw marks cautiously. The man of shadows sniffed, then wrapped the bandages back into place and looked at the scroll at the marble white altar with a hint of nostalgia in his mind.

"It requires amounts of chakra, control and discipline." He added.

"I will try, Danzō-sama." The kunoichi whispered as she made her way up to the altar, stepping on the staircase of stone lightly, and in an almost ceremonious way. Danzō watched as she carefully lifted the scroll from the white, dusty stone table and held it in front of her as she inspected it. "Thank you, Danzō-sama, for showing me." She said louder this time. The bandaged man nodded.

"Try to summon it on a large field, preferably not in Konohagakure. It might induce damage to the infrastructure. There is always a risk that it will explode or burst into fire."

"Sounds like fun." A gleeful smirk hinted on her pink lips as she carefully put the scroll into her bag. Danzō smirked - he almost always found himself wondering if she was a little bit insane, and then waved his hand towards the door, leading them out from the ancient room of haunted memories and battles forgotten.

"Back to training, Haruno." He said and walked strictly out of the door, hearing her light steps follow him willingly.

"Yes, Danzō-sama."

* * *

><p><em>The Prodigy Hyuuga Neji<em>

He saw her waiting for him outside of the training area. She stood casually at the entrance to the grounds, wearing a loose black top and a beige skirt which showed her slender creamy legs. And as always nowadays, her black katana was strapped on her back. It seemed like she went nowhere without it. Neji had a towel around his shoulders, wiping the sweat off his neck and he sniffed. The white top he wore clung tightly to his chest, the sweat having soaked it.

"Hey there, sweaty." She said and grinned as the Hyuuga muffled a greeting with the towel. "Want to grab a coffee later? I'm free for two hours." She asked when she walked besides him as they went up to the streets of Konoha, away from the training grounds near the Forest of Death.

"Yes, why not. I'll just go and freshen up first. See you in twenty minutes?"  
>"Sure, meet up at Black Gold?" She said as she started to walk away, heading for the Markets.<p>

"It's a deal." Neji agreed and waved at her disappearing form in the crowds of people on the street. The last he saw of her was a flash of pink, before a family walked in front of her, hiding her from his ever seeing eyes.

When Neji had showered and changed clothes at an inhuman speed - he might have broken several world records in speed-showering, he found himself waiting in line at the coffee shop Hinata had claimed to be the best in Konoha. He had yet to find out if this was true. He ordered his coffee black and saw a bob of pink hair outside the shop, through the large window. He walked out into the late afternoon sunlight and there she was, sitting with a book and a coffee cup in the open-air café. She had her hair pinned in a very messy bun, which made her petal hued hair fall in cascades down on her shoulder. She looked up and smiled when she heard his foot steps.

"Your hair is still wet." She said and smirked. Neji snorted and sat down in front of her, placing his steaming black coffee on the rounded glass table.

"It gets like that when I spray water on it." He said and his eyes found the book she had abandoned at his arrival. 'Chakra Enhanced Protection of Inner Organs - Possible or Not'?

"That book looks interesting." He noted and sipped from his coffee. The black gold was hot and almost burnt his tongue, but he flourished in the bitterness and complex taste of it. It caressed his tongue with jagged hotness and some kind of flavour, likened to dark chocolate, mint and cherries. He understood why Hinata had claimed this coffee shop to be the best in Konoha.

"It is. You can borrow it later if you want. You like the coffee?" Sakura smiled and those apple green eyes searched his face for a hint of pleasure. But his complexion, as always, remained steely and indifferent. It was so practiced he no longer thought about his expression. In a stark contrast to Sakura, she was so full of emotions and always let them show. He sniffed.  
>"It's plausible."<br>"Oh, come on Neji! That is the best coffee you ever had, or will have."

"Perhaps. It's got an interesting taste and certain edge, that I will approve of."

"Legend says they mix rainbows, star dust and unicorns into it while brewing." She said dramatically and sipped from her own coffee and almost squealed in delight. Neji smirked, he let himself to do so. Then he was reminded of the latest gossips within the Hyuuga mansion's maid section.

"That's right. Sakura, I've been hearing a lot of rumours lately, about different reasons why Tsunade dismissed you as her apprentice. But I want to hear from you directly. What happened between you two?" Neji asked, eyeing the kunoichi in front of him. Sakura blinked.  
>"Ah. We had a huge fight. And I figured I didn't want to be a Medic, so she said I could as well learn from someone else. So she dismissed me." The Haruno closed her eyes and sipped some more from her coffee cup she held dearly in her hands. Neji almost snorted.<br>"Really? I must admit, you have come to be a better liar lately, Sakura." His pearly eyes focused directly on her verdant ones.  
>"Never works with you, now does it?" She chuckled. "But I'm sorry, Neji. That is the official version and I need to keep it true that way."<p>

"I see... Then, I won't probe any further. You have your own reasons, I presume. I heard you sparred with Hatake Kakashi the other week, by the way. How'd it go?"

"A bit like expected. I didn't manage to take the two bells." She chewed on her lip and stared into the depths of her coffee cup.  
>"But you succeeded in snatching one, right?" He grinned. He had heard that much at least.<br>"Yes, I did. And.." She leaned closer to him, her eyes shining with smugness. Neji tilted his head near her. "I got to see his face!" She whispered excitedly in his ear, as if it was a secret miracle. Neji smiled and shrugged his shoulders, leaning back on his stool.

"That has to be the achievement of the decade, Sakura." He quipped.  
>"It <em>is<em>! And you know what? He doesn't have a disfigured face or a goatee. He's actually _really_ handsome!" She cheered, and was that a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks?, as she sipped from her coffee almost shyly. Neji felt ice settle in his stomach. Was that Kakashi so handsome as to give _Sakura_ a blush?

"Didn't you say he had conditions for you too?" He asked, turning the direction of the conversation to anything that wouldn't make him want to punch something.  
>"Oh, yeah. I was to apologise to Tsunade-shishou because of my recent 'behaviour'." The Haruno drawled and rolled her eyes.<p>

"That seems like a good idea, actually. Whatever reason you have for arguing with her, it's never especially clever to be so openly hostile towards the village's own Hokage. People will look at you disapprovingly." Neji explained and sipped from his coffee. He began to understand more and more the concept of 'Black Gold' as the amount of his coffee slowly disappeared from his cup.

"I know, I know. I'll do it soon, in a very open and polite fashion." She grumbled, yet agreed.

"Sounds good." Neji smiled and looked up into the sky. It was a clear day, with no clouds in sight. The sun shone starkly through the canopy of the nearby tree, the large tree that covered the display of 'Black Gold' coffee shop. He let the sun caress his skin with closed eyes. He breathed in the fresh air, it smelt like leaves and newly cut grass blended with the soft spicy scents that drifted with the breeze to the coffee shop from the lively Markets. When he opened his opalescent eyes he found Sakura looking at him. When he caught her gaze, she turned her eyes away quickly.

"What is it?" He asked, frowning. Why had she looked at him... like that?

"Nothing. I just thought you looked so peaceful. It's... You have changed since the Chunin exams." Sakura said and smiled, turning her gaze back to his. Apple green eyes took softly in his slightly surprised expression. Neji cleared his throat.  
>"And so have you. I still remember your fight with the Yamanaka. If it had taken place today, the outcome would have been very different." Neji answered and felt a bit nostalgic. How much everyone had changed. How the circumstances had made them change. How different he was in his approach to the Main House. His hatred for them was still there, for <em>him<em>, it was seething, yet it had been numbed somewhat. It made it easier for him to interact with the Main House, which was necessary if his plan on becoming the Clan Head was to come to fruition. He had planned it for years. To change the standards and traditional and conservative way of thinking within the Clan if he became the Head. The question was if Hinata would prove to be sufficient enough to mantle the position, or if the Elders saw him as the prodigy he was and decided to give it to him instead.

"Maybe." Sakura smiled and drank the last of her coffee. "I need to go. I have a mission tonight in a village bordering to Fire, so I need to get going. Haven't packed yet."

"I see. Which rank?" The Hyuuga asked and flipped a few hair strands away from his face.  
>"It's classified." She smirked and swiftly stood up, and she stretched her back like a feline. Neji sighed, yet didn't move. He wanted another cup of coffee and he had still a few hours before he was to meet with Hiashi about the annual meetings with the Hyuuga Elders.<p>

"You and your secrets. Be safe." He muttered into his coffee cup. Sakura waved at him with a last faint smile, left the book she had read before in front of him and hopped up on the building of the coffee shop, fast disappearing from view. Neji rose and ordered another cup of rainbows and star dust, then delved into the depths of theories regarding chakra enhanced organs.

* * *

><p><em>The Cloud Watching Boy Nara Shikamaru<em>

When he went inside Ichiraku's, bowing his head under the fabric sheet at the entrance, he heard a familiar tingling laughter. His eyes searched for the source and found it at the bar, where an outrageous hair colour stood out in stark contrast from the rest of the dull crowd. He muttered 'troublesome' under his breath but all the same, he found himself walking up to her. As usual, the cursed katana was blatantly strapped on her back. The Haruno sat with a man Shikamaru recalled as Shiranui Genma, he recognised him because of the famed senbon which was at the corner of his mouth. Sakura turned around, as if she had felt him in the cacophony of chakras, and grinned widely.

"Shika!" She squealed and hugged him. He hesitantly returned the hug with a pat on her back, a questioning look at Genma who only returned his gaze with a shrug and a smile. Sakura was never prone to intimate displays of affection. Shikamaru concluded she had had a little too much beer.

"Sakura, hello." He muffled from her pink hair. She let go and ordered him to sit beside her on the bar stool. He obeyed and sat at the wooden stool which creaked slightly.

"What are you doing here? I thought tea, shogi and cloud watching was your only hobbies." She asked and her eyes glittered. The Haruno then sniffed and ordered a beer for him, putting it on her own tab. Shikamaru let her and sighed.

"I have come to enjoy grabbing a beer after missions. Since I became Jounin, the Strategist & Intelligence department and those T&I bastards has been on my tail ever since. So I spend my days trying to avoid them from recruiting me openly, in which case I have an obligation to say yes, and, well, I go on missions almost all the time as well. A beer is calming for my nerves. I usually meet up with Asuma but this day he had some kind of date with Kurenai. Such a drag." Shikamaru explained as the bartender gave him a pint. Sakura nodded and smiled.

"I see. Oh, how rude of me! This is Genma, say hi Genma," she prodded and patted Genma on the head, who grinned amusedly, "and this is Shika! Or, uh, Shikamaru."

"Good to meet you, Genma." Shikamaru greeted and nodded with his head.

"You as well, 'Shika'." The man with a senbon in his mouth waved with his hand. "I better get going, I have an early A-rank mission tomorrow. See you, Sakura. Shika." Genma said and hopped off the bar stool. The Nara wrinkled his nose. If Sakura's nickname for him spread like a wild fire after this he would jump off the Hokage mountain.

"Catch you later, Genma! Have fun at the mission." Sakura cheered and turned to Shikamaru as she drank from her beer and Genma disappeared in the crowds. The Nara noted how Sakura had said 'have fun' rather than 'stay safe'.

When the girl turned towards him, he noticed the bandages covering her body. She wore a too large beige sweater and loose black hakamas, yet when she moved her arms and legs hints of bandages underneath the fabric was seen on her skin. Her skin was flushed and raw.

"Another Tsunade explosion?" He smirked and pointed at her bandages.

"One could say." She laughed. "No, I have been training. It's been quite excessive."

"Having yourself that injured during training might not be too good an idea. What if you were requested on a mission tomorrow? You wouldn't stand a chance at a Genin, Sakura."

"Nah, won't happen. I have a few privileges." She chirped and twirled a pink lock around her finger. Shikamaru only watched her.

"Really?" He chuckled. "Who have you been training with?"

"Uh. It's kind of classified. But I call him Mr. Shady." Sakura said with flushed cheeks. Now Shikamaru was certain the girl had consumed one too many beers.

"Classified? Oh, why am I not surprised anymore." Shikamaru commented and sighed deeply. As he leaned back into the bar stool, he saw something scribbled on Sakura's shoulder when her too large sweater slipped down her right arm. In a flash, she had the sweater up over her shoulder, looking away into the crowds, covering her arm. Avoiding his gaze, Shikamaru presumed.

"Hey, is that a tattoo?" Shikamaru asked and he saw how she bit her lip hard. Probably cursing her recklessness. The Nara was definitely not a non-perceptive man. He had known all along that there was something going on with the girl, except for the Izanami part which he knew about obviously. Heck, all things were going on with that troublesome girl. And now he guessed and concluded she had been appointed ANBU, which all made sense. The tattoo on her arm, which he swore looked like the same the ANBU donned on their skins, and her harsh training, her secrecy and her constant disappearances on unrequested missions. It made sense and it was somewhat logical.

"Oi, don't be offended. I guess it was just a wound. You'd never get a tattoo, I know." He declared, sniffed and then Sakura looked at him finally, clenching her sweater hard. Her apple green eyes pierced him and she knew he knew, and he let the subject drop. He was not surprised she was ANBU, however strange that might sound. He knew she had the intelligence, the strategic part down, she had the strength and the medical knowledge necessary. One would be dumb not to appoint her ANBU. He guessed the open argument with Tsunade was just for show, an act of defiance, though for what purpose he didn't know.

"What's up lately? Do you still have those dream sequences with the demon?" Shikamaru steered the conversation elsewhere, though he didn't know if the subject was just as difficult. Yet she had told him about her dreams before, so he figured it was fine to ask. He sipped his beer.  
>"Oh, yeah. I do. Izanami's still pissed at you and Neji though. You know, about that thing when you tried to burn her up." The Haruno smirked and Shikamaru scoffed. There was a slight hum from the katana on her back, but he decided to ignore it.<p>

"Well, she should have expected something like that."

"She didn't. What's done is done." Sakura said dramatically and waved her hands.

"So, what happens nowadays? You said you won the dream-war before and then you woke up from the coma." He asked, his black eyes squinting at her.

"She decided to train me herself after that. She deemed me 'hard' enough for it. We're no longer in the battlefield, we're in some kind of clearing each night. There are no people in sight. She has an extensive arsenal of weapons stashed in a bush. We go through each weapon and train with them until she deems me sufficient with them. Last night we did the guandao, which was actually quite fun."  
>"So the training is easier, I presume? Since you seem to enjoy it."<br>"Not really. She kills me each night, still. It's just that... I have gotten so used to it by now. It's painful and it sucks, but I've gotten numb to the feeling."  
>"Oh. That sounds troublesome. The killing part, I mean." Shikamaru said, looking down on his hands.<p>

"Yeah. It's a pain in the ass." Sakura hiccuped and then they left the subject. The rest of the night they talked about the current political climate in Tea, where there were many interesting conspiracies taking place as well as the development of a new system of rule. Shikamaru enjoyed the conversations he had with the girl and when he went to sleep hours later at home with a flush apparent on his ears, he closed his eyes with a smile.

* * *

><p><em>The Flourishing Merchant Ukeno Tajima<em>

A knock was heard on his front door and he just knew, it was just that gut feeling, that he would see petal hued hair today. He opened the door tiredly and just as he had suspected, there she was. Her grin almost knocked him over. Had she gotten even more beautiful and scary since last time?

"Hello, Tajima-san. I have a favour to ask of you." She said and tilted her head innocently.

"What is it, Cherry?" He sighed and invited her inside his office. She strutted after him, all flowing hair and glittering verdant eyes.

"That reminds me. Did you ever mention your nickname for me to the Bingo Book researchers?" She asked and creased her eye brows. Tajima flinched.

"It... might have slipped my mouth. But Cherry is rather fitting, don't you think?" He tried.  
>"It's better than 'Pink Haired Banshee'." She agreed and nodded to herself. Tajima sighed in relief.<p>

"True. Now, what do you want?"

"I know you own large parts of the field outside of this village. Would you mind if I borrowed it for a while?" She chirped and smiled innocently.

"I hope I won't mind. Just don't blow it up or whatever." The merchant absentmindedly pinched the bridge of his nose. This girl.  
>"That is wonderful! Thank you, Tajima-san!"<p>

"But I will need to be there. I have some time off and to make sure you don't do anything foolish, I want to be there." He said, stating it as harshly he could.  
>"I get your point. I am borrowing it, after all. But I'll need to have you promise me on your life that you won't talk about what will happen today." Her eyes flashed emerald and he gulped.<p>

"Of course, Cherry."

They walked slowly to the fields and Tajima noticed four scrolls strapped on the kunoichi's thighs, two for each leg. They looked really old and then he recognised the scroll he had given her some month ago. The Vermillion Bird. He shivered. So she was planning on summoning the fire animal, as well as three others he didn't know of. But if he knew the pink haired banshee, they were most probably just as dangerous. He didn't know if he regretted following after her.

They reached the fields and the pink haired kunoichi laid the four summoning scrolls on the ground. She looked over her shoulder at Tajima and he felt a sliver of sweat run down his back.

"For your own safety, Tajima-san, I suggest you step back." Her voice cut through the air to his ears and he only nodded, as he jogged to a tree pretty far away. He could still see her clearly from where he stood underneath the tree and he could still hear her mumbling different seal combinations. She saw he was far away when she looked around, and then she started making different seals with her hands, too fast for the merchant to follow with civilian eyes. There was a blur and then she bowed down to the first scroll. When she bowed down, Tajima saw her pink hair fall gently away from her shoulders down on her chest, and then the nape of her neck was clear of hair.

He was quite surprised, as he saw four rhombus formed tattoos in the nape of her neck. Horizontally, they adorned her spine with different colours. He saw the one closest to her neck was an azure like colour and the largest one, the second was crimson, the third was white and the last he made out to be black. As she touched the first scroll on the ground, she bit her thumb and streaked her blood on it at the scribbled seals, the black rhombus on her neck started to glow. It _glowed_, like smouldering charcoal. With a small screech, the pink haired banshee fell to the ground. The black rhombus flashed, grew in size and the Tajima saw actual chakra flood from the rhombus to the scroll. A deafening boom was made and a geyser of dust flew up into the air. Tajima coughed. When the dust cleared slowly, he saw a large dark figure stand in front of the fallen kunoichi.

"Hello, girlie. What is going on? There are no fun enemies near, except for a rat perching at the tree over there."  
>"Oh, that's just Tajima. Don't care about him. I have a surprise for you. Or rather, three surprises."<br>"Hm?" The largest tortoise Tajima had ever seen chuckled and the ground almost shook. Genbu. The Dark Warrior, one of the Celestial Beasts.

"Let's get this over with." The kunoichi clenched her teeth and bit both of her thumbs this time and she performed another flurry of seals which Tajima didn't catch. Then, she pressed both her thumbs on the two other ancient scrolls. A crackling noise was heard, as if lightning had stricken, and then the merchant saw the white and the red rhombus in her neck glow. The same thing happened again. Two geysers shot up into the sky and Tajima coughed twice. The dust didn't settle, and animalistic sounds was heard. He saw the Haruno bite her thumb hard, one last time, and a lot of blood flowed and dripped down on her arm. The largest rhombus at the nape of her neck, the azure one, glowed starkly and shone almost. She streaked her blood on the last scroll and a lightning cracked the sky into two.

The kunoichi screamed in pain but she continued with her seals. When she was finished, she slumped heavily on the ground, not moving. The dust in the air was suddenly flapped away by two large, beautiful vermillion wings. What stood in front of Tajima at that moment was almost too hard for him to comprehend. Genbu, the Dark Warrior, the large black tortoise. Suzaku, the Vermillion Bird. Byakko, the White Tiger. And then lastly, what appeared from the dust and revealed scales and horns and glittering colours of an azure ocean, was Seiryu - the Azure Dragon. Tajima whimpered and fell speechless to his knees.

The Heavenly Animals took in each other's appearances.

"Oh." The white tiger said in surprise, his white fur rippling with muscles underneath.

"Fancy meeting you here, my brethren." The black tortoise grumbled with an amused tone.

"I never would have imagined that we would be gathered again like this." The tiger, Byakko, grinned. Sharp white teeth glistened in the sun light.

"It has been around a thousand years since we last met." Genbu stated and looked at his heavenly brothers. The dragon, who stood in the middle on his four muscled legs, was silent. He observed with clear blue predatory eyes.

"Gracious me. I would not have minded another thousand years until our reunion." The vermillion bird declared and looked around at the field.

"That was not very nice, Suzaku." The black turtle snarled, yet he seemed to find it amusing as he moved his wide head to tilt to one side.

"I believe it is quite good to see you all alive again, no matter what Suzaku might say. And you're as hideous as ever, Genbu." The enormous white tiger roared and the black tortoise gave a snort, yet didn't respond. The gigantic vermillion bird nodded with his beak.

"Yes, it was a most uncertain situation last time." Suzaku, the vermillion bird, slowly turned his head. Tajima felt his breath hitch. The largest bird he had ever seen looked at the pink haired kunoichi slumped on the ground. She groaned a bit and Tajima saw blood seep from her eyes, ears, nose and mouth. She looked like she was on the verge of dying, and the seals in her neck were gone, and even Tajima knew she had exhausted her chakra sources even though he couldn't feel it. The pink haired girl rose shakily and looked up at the Four Celestial Beasts. Her eyes widened slightly, then she grinned with blood smeared on her face. As if she was reminded of something, she hastily bowed deeply to each and every King, almost falling when she bowed to Seiryu. None of the animals said anything.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I have summoned you to ask if you would like to accompany me for some time as summons." She said, and her voice didn't waver, yet her body seemed to almost fall apart. Tajima couldn't understand how she could still stand on her own two feet.

"Do you intend to hold _four_ contracts of the Heavenly Kings, you puny human?" The vermillion bird snorted and scoffed, irritably flapping his wing to further state his disapproval.

"That is one flamboyant hair colour." The tiger noted and grinned, the sharp teeth sending shivers down Tajima's spine.  
>"I like her. She is feisty. Just look at that little bloody mess." Genbu rumbled and chuckled.<br>"She's too similar to you, Genbu. All bloodthirst and no grace, I can smell it." The vermillion bird sneered and elegantly flapped with his large wing. "You are one greedy human. Is not even one contract of the Heavenly Kings enough for you?"

Tajima saw how the Haruno was about to answer, when an azure tail snaked through the clearing and the large, beautiful dragon stood in front of the little girl, towering over her petite form. The merchant knew if he had been her, he would have fallen. Yet she didn't. She stood and faced a dragon, for god's sake, straight on. Where was her fear?

"I see your _Will of Fire_ imprinted into the depths of your heart. I agree to being in a contract with you, Haruno Sakura." The azure dragon Seiryu said lowly and it was as if diamonds clinked together in Tajima's ears, creating clear musical pieces that could never be described with plain words. The azure dragon pecked at his tail with one of his large claws, drew blood, and let drops of it fall on his own summoning contract.

"Well, if Seiryu is going to sign it, so will I. I trust his judgement of humans with the pride of my black patterns on my white fur." Byakko roared lowly, bit his paw with his sharp teeth and blood flowed and then he put his it on his own summoning scroll, smearing his blood together with the kunoichi's.

"I am already in a contract with her. She is amusing." Genbu chuckled.

"Are you all insane? What is so special about this female human? I should just kill her for even trying to summon us!" Suzaku disagreed and looked around at his royal brothers. Tajima whimpered again, feeling his knees scrape against the ground.

"Have you not even bothered to look into the vivacity of her heart, Suzaku?" Byakko grumbled, changing his stance so his muscles strained underneath the fur.

"Pft. Is that even necessary? I don't perch just anywhere." The bird chirped.

"Look at her, Suzaku." Seiryu's dark voice was cold like ice and sliced the atmosphere, diamond clinging against ruby. The vermillion bird blinked at the azure dragon, then turned his deep yellow slits of eyes onto Sakura. His burning amber eyes seemed to pierce into her soul, as she stood shakily in front of the Four Beasts, with blood covering almost every inch of her skin.

"Interesting. It seems she is pure in her heart, yet her mind is filled with determination. Her soul is... luminescent. Interesting indeed." Suzaku muttered, slightly flapping his wings in a crimson flurry of feathers.

"I will agree to the binding of the summoning contract with you, Haruno Sakura. However, you should know, little human, that us Celestial Beasts will never be summoned just like the other dog summoning. We decide for ourselves when to come to your aid. You will never have the power to summon us, only call for us." He told the girl.

"I humbly accept the terms of our contract, revered Suzaku." She said and bowed deeply to the ground, shaking. The vermillion bird snorted, an animal like sound which came from the depths of this throat.

"A contractor of mine never bows down. It is not very graceful. Even though you are polite, little human, never bow down to anyone."

"Yes, Suzaku-sama. I will not."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

Hi peeps!

One issue coming up. And a long rant of thank you's and questions. And a poll.

YOUR TIME TO SHINE PEEPS, MAKE A STATEMENT & INFLUENCE _TRANSITION!_

(sorry for eye-hurting caps)

Okay, I don't know if I should let Sakura fall in love or not. Should I? Or are you all like NO SHE DOESN'T NEED ANYONE, ALONE IS STRONG ETC..? God, caps hurts my own eyes, don't even know why I use it. Anyway, answer in the reviews and I'll make a poll! Please answer realistically, according to my story. Like, if she should fall in love and with whom - Kiba hasn't had that much lime light, so he's out. Like that.

1. Should Sakura fall in love?

2. If yes, with whom? (_both male and female works for me_)

3. Why should she fall in love with this person?

Also, I would like to give my greatest and humblest of sincere _thank you's_ to my reviewers and readers. I love you with all of my heart for your kind words. And as you might know, I write this story majorly for myself and for _you guys_. You're the ones that makes me want to continue with this haphazard fanfic.

If you would please, I would like to hear a lot more constructive criticism. I want to improve this story so much, and in order to do that, I need people telling me what I do wrong. Like **Danilorraine **commented on the timeline, which I haven't answered yet because I'm not too sure myself lol. I think I tried to do it a bit like Canon, so Sakura's sixteen now and there's half a year left before Naruto returns. **UchihaJennifer **commented on Danzou actually being Danzō, so I changed that. So if you think that I just read your reviews and then leave them, _no_. I listen. I take your compliments and gentle reprimands to heart.

Okay, there are OC's in this fic. I'm sorry. I kind of like them. To be clear, my OC's are:  
>- <em>Fuyu, the Root-devoted ANBU captain<em> (He had a short appearance in chapter 5, Inferno, where he was all handsome and rude when Sakura swallowed the two pills during the ceremony to get into Root. He's got silver hair and violet eyes and is quite strong, yet very deceptive. He might make another appearance in the future.)

- _Senju Kitsune_ (The librarian in the secret Library at the Hokage Tower, she enjoys Sakura's company dearly because she's lonely.)

_- Ukeno Tajima_ (The merchant who had Izanami first in chapter one, then meets Sakura

when she buys weapons from his shop. They have some kind of strained friendship going on.)

_- Seiryu_ (The Azure Dragon, leader of the Celestial Beasts - Powerful and silent)

- _Suzaku_ (The Vermillion Bird, one of the Celestial Beasts - Elegant yet arrogant)

- _Genbu_ (The Black Tortoise, one of the Celestial Beasts - Scarred fighter and humorous)

- _Byakko _(The White Tiger, one of the Celestial Beasts - Aggressive yet cool)

_Side note:_

(Yes, **sasusaku3623649** and **silverwolfighter00**, Kakashi is an ass in last chapter 8, Insignificant Third. I always thought he was an idiot, just leaving Sakura to cheer on the sidelines for Naruto and Sasuke. He had just _no interest _in her at all, and I got _so, so_ mad when I used to read the manga - so I made him a bit of a jerk. But still, there's so many lovely KakaSaku fanfics out there that made me change my opinion slightly. So that's why he's actually a handsome bastard, a bit like Sasuke. Meaning: that's why Sakura blushed when she saw his face. Goddamnit Kakashi)

Thank you.

Still want a Beta though.

xx fascalia


	10. Disowned

**Transition**

Sakura is perceived from the perspectives of others as she changes during the years into something else entirely. The people near her follows her transition closely and when she starts abandoning everything she held dear - she gets closer and closer to her goal.

Chapter 10

Disowned

Through the Eyes of a Caring Father, a Prodigy and a Man With a Borrowed Eye

* * *

><p><em>The Flourishing Merchant Ukeno Tajima<em>

Tajima stood at the tree now, he had managed to get up from the ground as he supported himself on the tree bark, and stared with astonishment visible in his grey eyes at the large animals surrounding a little girl. They continued to talk but with lowered voices and the merchant couldn't really hear what they said. He didn't know if he should present himself or not. Or help the bleeding girl. Or run the other way for his dear life.

His ears perked as he heard his own name.

"Tajima-san? We have come to an agreement now. But to easier blend without being noticeable within Konoha, they have decided to take on the appearance of humans. Would you lend us some clothes? I will of course pay you." The Haruno asked, her voice a bit weak. Tajima scrambled up to the girl who swayed a bit unsteadily on the field.

"Y-yes, of course, Cherry. I'll get some bandages for you as well. Wait just a few minutes." He said and ran off to the village, sweat seeping on his forehead. He was glad she owed him a favour now. With those beasts at her side, no merchant would even think of assassinating him.

When he arrived at his weapon's shop he didn't even greet the guards inside, he hurriedly went to his own clothes chamber and gathered the most fine yukatas he could find, got a medical kit and was off again. When he was back at the field he was drenched in sweat and laid the clothes on the ground with a deep bow to each heavenly animal, then he turned to the pinkette and gave her the medical kit. With a poof, while he helped the girl with the bandages and the disinfectant, he heard the beasts talk amongst themselves.

Tajima dared to look over his shoulder and what met his gaze was astounding once again. Four men stood where four heavenly beasts had once been. It was almost too clear of which man was which King. The man with messy white and short hair and green slitted feline eyes and canine teeth sticking out slightly from his mouth was obviously Byakko, the white tiger. The man with black ruffled and spiky hair reaching his collarbone, with tanned skin which was covered with awful red scars and with deep coal black eyes was probably Genbu, the black tortoise. Genbu looked dangerous and rough, with an arrogant smirk adorning his scarred features. The man with long, straight and flowing scarlet hair, with burning amber eyes and a graceful posture was most positively Suzaku, the vermillion bird. And lastly, the one with that immense presence, was the tallest man with long and straight azure hair which reached his hips, his eyes were a ever changing colour of the sky and he had a pale complexion on his beautiful face. It was Seiryu, Tajima had no doubt. The man moved silently, inspecting the black yukata he had chosen from the pile. All of the men were very handsome, perhaps except for Genbu since he was so heavily scarred. They seemed to have no age as well, Tajima couldn't even think of a number as he stared at them. They were ageless.

Suddenly, the Haruno girl shook and fell down. She slumped on the ground, her breathing hitched and he saw sweat glistening on her pale skin as it chafed against the soil. Tajima fumbled with the bandage he had tried to attach, but he had been too preoccupied staring at the four beautiful men that he hadn't paid attention to her. He touched her forehead and it was burning. He didn't know what had happened. In a flash, the man Byakko was there and scooped her up in his arms easily.

"She's suffering from severe chakra depletion, obviously. She must have saved large amounts of chakra into her four Strength of a Hundred Seals on her neck to be able to summon us." Byakko mumbled and the other men gathered around the girl. Tajima stood motionless, not knowing what the man was talking about.

"Foolish girl." Suzaku muttered as his yellow eyes stared unabashedly at her unconscious form in the arm's of the white tiger.

"What is that katana? It's alive. And it's feeding her with dark chakra to keep her alive." Byakko asked, perplexed, as he saw the katana strapped at her side. It hummed slightly.

"It is the embodiment of Izanami of Yomotsu Hirasaka." Seiryu's voice trickled like diamonds into the atmosphere. The tall man with azure hair falling in cascades down his shoulder looked at the katana with ever changing blue eyes.

"What? _That_ devil goddess?" Suzaku said and flinched, his stance changing.

"Interesting." Genbu rumbled with a laugh starting in his throat. "This girl is so interesting."

Byakko wrinkled his nose, similar to a tiger's roaring grimace, yet he didn't drop the girl.

"We will discuss this matter with our contractor when she wakes up. Now, we need to give her chakra to restore her resources." Byakko grumbled, taking a better hold of the girl in his arms.

"I wish to speak with Izanami. We will come to an agreement regarding our contractor. As well come to terms with what the current situation is." Seiryu said and gracefully unstrapped the katana at the unconscious girl's hip. He drew the sword from its scabbard in one swift movement and his eyes turned white as he held the katana pointed to the ground. Tajima still didn't understand what was going on, so he stood silently with bandages ready in his hands and watched as the tall man with a powerful presence seemed to talk with the demon goddess, his eyes a opalescent shimmering white. The other men watched Seiryu as well, expectantly. Genbu cracked his tanned, rough fists.

"I see." Seiryu's voice was crisp and clear and he slid the katana back into the black scabbard. His eyes were a clear ocean colour again and Tajima let out a breath he didn't know he had held back.

"She has a contract with Izanami as well. The contract states that Haruno Sakura is to take the lives of a thousand men to sate Izanami's hunger. In return, Izanami will give herself as a weapon to Haruno Sakura and will give her as well her large chakra reserves residing within. Izanami says she is to aid our contractor in her quest for fulfilling a few difficult goals."

Silence fell down on the men.

"Izanami has agreed to working together with us." Seiryu looked at the other men surrounding him. "What do you say?"

"I'm alright with it. Me and Izanami had a few quarrels in the past, but it's a long time ago now. It will be interesting having her at our side and not at the other." Genbu snorted and smirked. "Killing a thousand men is so like Izanami."

"Izanami is graceful and elegant, even though she revels in carnage. I agree." Suzaku said and flipped a crimson hair strand to his back.

"I agree. It will be interesting to see what this little girl will lead us to." Byakko said grimly.

"Then it is decided." Seiryu concluded and strapped the katana back at the girl's hip. The kunoichi was sweating profusely now and she groaned with her eyes squeezed shut. Tajima's image of the girl changed at that instant; she was _human_. Just like himself. She wasn't invincible, even with that cursed katana at her side. She was dying.

"Let us aid Izanami in restoring our contractor's chakra. Be careful, however, since her chakra channels are quite thin. She is not used to having large amounts of chakra within her. Come now, what do you say about restoring her four little Strength of a Hundred Seals as well?" Genbu rumbled and went to place a hand on the girl's solar plexus. His finger tips seeped black chakra into her body.

"She made them so pretty, with a colour for each of us." Byakko smirked and looked down on her slumped form, his hands starting to glow with white chakra where he held her body.

"So that's what the rhombus tattoos were for." Suzaku chirped and walked elegantly up to Byakko, placing his hand on her forehead. Scarlet energy ran from his palm into the petite girl's skin. Seiryu was the last to gather around Byakko and the girl, letting his hand trace her pink hair gently. The startling cerulean chakra flowed like water around his slender fingers, swirling, finding its way to the girl. The celestial men poured softly dips of their chakras into the girl and it seemed like the girl renewed. The blood on her body disappeared, washed away. Her too pale skin became flushed with the flow of blood. Her skin almost... glinted? As if she had turned into a diamond, the sun light reflected on her.

"That is enough. Any more than this and she will burst." Byakko grumbled and all of the men's hands left the girl's body. Blinking wearily, the girl opened her emerald eyes. When she realised she was in the arms of a beautiful man she sniffed, her eyes wide.

"Oh." She said and looked around, as much as she could in his arms. She took in the image of three men standing around her.

"Thank you. For the chakra infusion. I feel so... light." She said lowly, her head turning away. Tajima saw a slight red tint on her ear.

Byakko slowly let her down and her feet touched the ground softly. The girl straightened her back, absentmindedly touching the katana's hilt at her hip. Her eyes widened again at the touch, as if someone had told her something in the silence. She looked up at the men.

"You will work with Izanami? I am glad. I was to bring up the matter of Izanami and my katana after I had regained my strength. But you beat me to it, it seems." She said, watching them. The men said nothing, only taking in her healthy appearance.

"You guys stand out too much." The kunoichi finally blurted, her cheeks blushing slightly.  
>"Impudent girl! How-" Suzaku started but was cut off short.<br>"What she states is true, Suzaku." Byakko said and nodded, looking down on his silky yukata.

"Maybe we should melt into the shinobi world by wearing their little shinobi clothes?" Genbu laughed and stretched the hem of his blue yukata, as if it was something annoying.  
>"Yes." Seiryu added. "That is a good idea, Genbu."<p>

"We'll go to Tajima's village and buy some. Come with me, if you please." The pinkette said and gathered her backpack, then shrugged it on her shoulder. She suddenly let her hand touch the nape of her neck, dragging her hair over her shoulder. Surprise filled her eyes.

"You restored my seals?" She asked, looking up at the men. Genbu smirked and Byakko shrugged.

"See it as a gift for freeing us." Genbu chuckled.

"Then, thank you. Yet again. I owe you." She was about to bow, but it seemed she was reminded of Suzaku's reprimand before she passed out. To not bow down to anyone. She straightened up and not really knowing what to do, she stroke a pose with a thumbs up. Tajima couldn't help himself, he snorted at the sight, and so earning a slightly embarrassed glare from the pink haired banshee. He shrunk.

"What does that hand sign mean?" Byakko asked as they started making their way to the village, Tajima scrambling behind them.

"It means... a lot of things. Like, 'it's going to be okay'. Or 'all is good'. Or just plainly 'thank you'." Sakura mumbled, smiling as if she thought of something funny.

"I see. That is a useful sign." Byakko sniggered, showing her a thumbs up as well. Sakura couldn't help but giggle at his pose.

They arrived at the village and went into Tajima's shop. Inside, the guards only raised eye brows when they took in the sight of the famed Cherry and a harem of four beautiful men. Tajima took a few fast steps and found the small section where he sold shinobi clothes.

"You may choose whatever you like, weapons as well." He said, shying his eyes away from the colourful gazes of the men.

"We are grateful, merchant." Byakko said and started shuffling through the different materials together with the other Heavenly Animals. Seiryu looked at a fishnet tank top with amused cerulean eyes.

"You don't happen to have any hitai-ates available?" The kunoichi asked as she eyed the different clothes the men picked, almost saying something when Genbu held a chest binding in his scarred hands, looking at intently.

"Mayhaps. I'll check." The merchant said and scurried to another part of the shop, bringing back four blank headbands fastened on black bandanas. The pink haired banshee eyed them and deemed them fit as she took them.

"Now, what village to make you guys come from..." She mumbled as she held a kunai in his hand, pondering.

"What about Kirigakure? Not much is known about that hidden village except for their bloody inhuman exams. And not many will ask unnecessary questions." Tajima suggested and earned an approving look from the girl.

"Yes. It should be Kiri." She agreed and scratched the symbols of the village onto the four head bands.

When they were done, Byakko showed up wearing a beige hakama and a white jacket that parted casually and showed his abdominal muscles and swell of his chest. He had strapped kunai pockets for show on his right leg and adorned a battle axe at his back. Byakko gave the girl a thumbs up and she grinned.

"It fits you." She said and returned the thumbs up enthusiastically. Next was Genbu who came from around the corner, wearing a black hakama and a dark blue shirt. The tanned and scarred arms wore bandages up to his elbows, not really hiding the massive muscles underneath. Only one weapon, a sledge hammer, was strapped at his back. He smirked when he saw Byakko.

"You look like a little human shinobi." He guffawed.

"So do you." Byakko growled and sniffed. Sakura waved with her hand.

"You both will better blend in this way. I'm sorry for the inconvenience." She said humbly.

"None the matter, girlie. I kind of like these materials. And the skin of a human." Genbu said and ruffled his spiky black hair. "Though I do miss my shell."

Tajima turned around when he heard a soft rustle of feet and found Suzaku and Seiryu appear. Suzaku adorned a murky green yukata, flowing behind him as he moved, contrasting the stark red of his long hair. He wore black hakamas underneath as well and he had strapped a thin sword on his hip which perfected the image of a samurai perfectly. Seiryu wore a silky silver top and dark grey hakamas and had no weapons on his person. They both looked absolutely stunning, even in shinobi combat clothes.

"That's a definite thumbs up." Tajima heard the girl say under her breath.

"We need to get going. We'll go to Konohagakure village, where I live and work, and I will appoint a meeting with Tsuna- the Hokage, I mean. I think she'll be able to get you four passports to Konoha. I don't know where you'll be able to live yet, but for the time being you can sleep at my place." She said and the men nodded.

"We do not sleep, girlie. But to have a base somewhere sounds good." Genbu said as they made their way out of the shop, but the pink haired banshee lingered. When Tajima went up to her she gave him a large bundle of money. He took it eagerly in his hands.

"Thank you. For the help. And remember; not a word about this day. Not to anyone." She said as she locked his eyes with her own.  
>"Yes, I promise, Cherry." He said and nodded, gulping. The she disappeared out the door in a flurry of petal hued hair. Tajima sighed and went to his chambers, falling on his bed heavily. Not a day went past when he didn't wonder what would have happened if he hadn't requested a team from Konoha, that day when he was to deliver Izanami to the Daimyo. He would probably have been dead, he guessed, but he wouldn't have had to live through so many small heart attacks as he did now.<p>

* * *

><p><em>The Caring Father Haruno Kizashi <em>

He knocked on the door to her apartment and within seconds, she stood there opening the handle. She was fresh out of the shower, with a white bathrobe and a towel on her shoulders, and with blinking apple green eyes she took in the appearance of her father.

"Oh. You're home! Sakura, dear. You must come home and eat dinner with us tonight." Kizashi declared and smiled, hugging the girl tightly. His daughter looked baffled for a moment, then she grinned slightly and patted his back in return.

"Sure, dad. Sounds lovely. What time?"

"Seven o' clock. Me and your mother misses you very much, you know." He mumbled, almost pouting. She cocked her head and smiled sadly.

"I miss you guys too. I'll be there."

"Good. See you tonight, dear!" He cheered and waved at her as he started walking back home. He smiled almost all the way home, already planning the ingredients for the dinner that night. Mebuki would be so happy to have their daughter home, and he had finally caught her. She had been away so much and she hadn't been at home when he had visited. When he got home he told his wife of the news and she squealed happily. They planned the dinner throughout the evening and cooked it together. When the clock hit seven they heard a sharp knock on their front door. Kizashi rushed to it and opened it, finding Sakura standing at their door step.

"Honey!" Mebuki squealed and hugged the girl after Kizashi was done smothering her with his embrace.

"Oh my Sakura! You've grown a tad bit taller haven't you? Hm, hm. Maybe 7 millimetres? I can't believe you're still growing!" Mebuki cheered happily. The girl flushed and nodded as she recuperated from their intense hugs, rubbing her arms.

"Perceptive as ever, mom." Their daughter smiled faintly.

"Oh come on now. We're eating!" Kizashi said and ushered them inside the dining room. Sakura sat down opposite to her father and took in the starters.

"Sakura baby, you're taking the salad right?" Mebuki asked as she went to the kitchen, to get the saucepans with food.

"I'm not on a diet, mom." Sakura said lowly, her eyes looking almost tired when she scooped up the starters on her plate. Mebuki eyes their daughter's plate with surprise.

"But there's just.. So much food on your plate. Think about your figure! What if you get fat?" Mebuki reprimanded the girl with concerned eyes.

"This is not fast food. I eat enough protein to keep me healthy." Sakura snapped and waved with her hands.

"Well, if you say so, honey..." His wife trailed off, though still eyeing the girl. As if she was afraid her daughter would turn into an Akimichi any moment.

They talked about commonplace things at first during their dinner, his wife commenting on the new strange neighbours that had moved in recently beside their house, Kizashi himself commenting on the latest talk about a newspaper article he had found interesting. Their daughter complied with the atmosphere and chatted calmly with them. Kizashi then realised it really had been a long time since he saw her last. She seemed to know more about the political situation in Tea Country than him, which he had read about in the news article. As if she had been there when the rebellion had risen and fallen due to the assassination of the rebellion's leader. He bit his lip as he cut through the meat on his plate. He didn't want to think about it like that.

Mebuki cleared her throat, dabbed a napkin on her mouth and then she folded her hands together, taking in a serious pose. Kizashi knew what she would bring up.

"Sakura dear, we have been thinking. We understand that you want independence, so you moved out. But your father and I have been considering a lot of things and we came to the conclusion that we believe you should follow your old friend Ino's example. Why not aspire to become a Medic instead of these dangerous missions you do?" Mebuki asked.

"We believe it will be more safe that way. And Ino thinks it's really fun, she said when I last met her at the grocery shop. Imagine how many people you can save!" Kizashi added cheerily, patting his daughter on her back. The girl only looked at them, with worn sapphire eyes.

"I'm sorry mom, dad. I can't heal with my right hand because of this scar", she said and showed her palm, where a hideous pink scar was slashed across it. "It's a burn mark that ended my healing chakra tenketsu in the palm nerves. It's a scar that ended my Medic career as well. If I can't heal with both of my hands it would hinder my work as a Medic. As a Medic one often holds the lives of ones patients in the hands, and if the other hand doesn't work; where does that leave me? I'm sorry, but my career as a medic is over." Their daughter said as she absentmindedly made circles in her food with the chopsticks.

"I-it can't be that bad. One hand to work with should be alright..." Kizashi said hesitantly.

"Where did you get that scar?" Mebuki asked sharply instead, looking at her daughter harshly.

"In a fire. It was accidental."

"I can't believe it! Dear, don't you see how dangerous this line of work is? No, no more. We have let you do this for too long now. It's time to end this charade." Kizashi exclaimed, creasing his eyes brows. He had to do this. It was for her own good.

"Meaning?"

"We will disown you if you don't quit being a shinobi." Mebuki said calmly, pronouncing each word carefully yet with steely certainty. The girl only watched them then, taking in their words with glinting emerald eyes.

"That's too bad." She said, closed her eyes and sighed.

"So you'll quit?" Kizashi asked. Hopefully she would finally find some sense, he thought.

"No. I can't and I don't want to. I am sorry you'd have to go as far to disown me for my choice of profession." She said and stared defiantly at them, with those burning eyes.

"Wait, Sakura dear. You can't be serious!" Kizashi snapped, not quite believing the girl was so foolish.

"I am."

"Then it is decided. We will disown you. Come back when you have grown up and changed your mind." Mebuki stated and looked with hard eyes on their daughter.

"This is for your own good, dear." Kizashi added, not wanting her baby girl to leave them really, but she had to see that what she was doing was wrong and not safe. She had to _see_.

"I understand. Farewell then. Thank you for the dinner." She said shortly, rose from her chair, bowed ever so slightly yet politely to them, and then she was gone out the door within a second. The door clicked shut heavily. When their daughter was gone, Mebuki looked at her husband. There were tears in her eyes and Kizashi felt something run down his cheek as well.

"When did our baby girl change so much? She's so rebellious. When did she stop _listening_?" She asked more to herself than to him, her hand wiping away her tears as she sniffed vulnerably.

"I don't know. Maybe when her nightmares started." Kizashi said as he moved over to her and hugged his wife comfortingly. He cried silently.

"Those were so horrible. She screamed every night as if she was literally dying. It was so... terrible. And now she does it all alone. In that damned empty apartment." Mebuki hiccuped an snivelled angrily.

"Damnit. She must have been traumatised on that mission she went on with the Nara boy and that Hyuuga prodigy some year ago. Or she's just... changed." Kizashi growled into his wife's hair as he hugged her tightly, rocking back and forth. She sobbed quietly in his arms.

* * *

><p><em>The Cloud Watching Boy Nara Shikamaru<em>

"It's not that they disowned me, it's that they disrespect me. They disrespect the honourable life of a shinobi and I can't forgive them for it. I have devoted myself to this work unconditionally, to this way of life. I have poured my everything to it. And they... they don't see it." She drunkenly declared, swinging her beer in front of Shikamaru's face. He avoided the beverage with an inch, then he lapsed into silence.

"They will see it, some day. They're just too worried about you at the moment." He tried.

"I will prove it to them! I'll show them I can do it. I won't die so easily." She slurred, yet her eyes were burning fiercely.

Shikamaru bit his lip as he tried to steady her as she continued her rant. She had come to him a few hours ago, demanding his company for a visit to Ichiraku's. He hadn't expected her to go into a drunken rage because of her parents though. He agreed with the Haruno, it was harsh of them to disown her, yet he saw their point of view as well. He had never met mister and missus Haruno, but he understood that they cared deeply for their daughter. They didn't want her to get hurt, to die. However, Shikamaru scolded them in silence, it was her choice. She had gone to the Academy, she been the top kunoichi of her class, she had become a Chunin and she had become the Hokage's apprentice. She was successful and had decided to continue her path of a shinobi. Her parents needed to respect that decision, and so it was a bit childish to disown her. As if that would contribute to anything else but quarrels between parents and daughter. And maybe a severed bond.

"Shikamaru. Thank you." She whispered and he nodded, understanding. She probably didn't want to be alone at the moment. As if she didn't have enough on her shoulders already, now her parents came with another boulder to put on her mind.

"No problemo, Cherry. Let's get you home."

"Uhn. Please stay over?" She grunted and he folded her arm over his shoulder, steadying her on the walk home to her apartment.

"This again? Sure. Your couch is nice." He answered wearily and focused his eyes on his own steps. He had drank a few beers of his own and he felt the world rumble at his feet, spinning, yet he bit it back. He looked at the girl besides him and he knew she would be too hungover tomorrow to make food herself. He huffed.

"I'll make you pancakes tomorrow." Shikamaru said as he lead her up to her doorstep, opening the door with one hand as he steadied the girl with the other.

"I like you, Shikamaru. You're my Pineapple Head Pancake Hero." She slurred and smiled dizzily as she stumbled inside, him following after her, scratching his head.  
>"I know."<p>

* * *

><p><em>The Prodigy Hyuuga Neji<em>

When none was watching, Haruno Sakura was dancing.

He found her at the bonfire in the middle of the festival, music pounding from the drums and the fierce guitars, her petal hued hair was swirling around her head in a dance of its own. She moved as if none was watching, there was a sheen of light sweat on her creamy and scarred skin, her hips moving, her torso moving, her hands moving all in tempo with the music. Her hair fell in front of her eyes, over her shoulders, swirling together with her movements. Her eyes were closed and she only listened and danced, not caring about anything or nothing. Sweat whirled off her in jewelled droplets. Her shirt clung tightly to her skin, sweat making it slightly wet. He couldn't stop looking at her. In a moment of a heart beat, the music stopped and she opened her eyes. White pearly eyes took in his form and she stopped moving. He couldn't do anything when she slowly made her way up to him, and he didn't notice the darkness seeping around him. The music of the festival disappeared, the murmurs, the laughter, the lights, everything. There was only Sakura.

The pink haired woman in front of him only stared when she got up in front of him. In a quick movement she pulled the nape of his neck down to her for a soft lingering kiss that sent a hundred shimmering diamonds to gleam in his eyes. She kissed him senseless. He didn't actually comprehend what exactly was happening.

Neji swallowed. But he revelled in the smoothness of her skin when he lightly touched her arm. He was so acutely aware of her, the heat that came off her skin, the sweet perfume that emitted from her body. A fine tremor slipped down his spine.

Neji took a few seconds to rearrange his thoughts and let go of her to breath. Then, his hormone's were getting the better of him and he snapped. He tilted his head over hers and found those enticing lips with his own again and inwardly growled at the sweet yet metallic taste of her pouty lips. He bit her lower lip and pulled it agonisingly slow, as he transitioned to gnaw lightly at her lower lip and she whimpered.

Sakura almost yelped in irritation as she threaded her fingers into his long hair and pulled him closer, so much closer. She sensually opened her mouth and he was swift to slip his tongue in and they danced. She had a dark, sweet and dangerous taste and he was plainly addicted to her. His mind was blank of all other thoughts except for Sakura.

There was only Sakura.

"The time is up." She lowly murmured into against his lips, drawing back from the embrace.

"I have murdered nine hundred and ninety-nine men to this day. The three years time limit has ended."

He was alone with her, the world around them didn't exist. He knew what she would do. What she had to do. She then looked at him with those white eyes, as if she was blind yet she saw everything, through his soul, into his heart. He prepared himself.

"I am ready." He said, his opalescent eyes never leaving hers. "I'm alright with it." He steeled himself. He could do this. For her sake, and none else's. He would give this to her. This life, his own life. For her freedom.

"I'm not." She whispered as her eyes turned completely white, the black pupil vanishing. It was like she had turned blind.

"I'm sorry." She said and raised the bloodied, cursed katana in one swift movement and slit her own throat.

Neji started and woke up from the dream, sweating and breathing harshly. He felt ice settle in his chest, squeezing him tightly as he clenched his bed sheet hard. What the hell? He thought when he went to get water. He gulped the glass of water quickly, the cold water trickling down his dry throat. What had that dream meant? Why had she kissed him? Why had she slit her own throat? Why-

He didn't want to think about it, yet it was there in the back of his mind, screaming at him that something would turn out very bad. He couldn't sleep the rest of that night. The moon was full and he went out into his private garden, practicing the Byakugan and the Gentle fist in the dim light of the stars. He focused on his movements, on the sound of the night, to drain out the sad dirge of his heart which beat harshly against his ribcage with premonition.

* * *

><p><em>The Powerful Drunk Senju Tsunade<em>

The Four Celestial Beasts, this time around. Almost nothing surprised Tsunade anymore about that girl. She had come to the Hokage's Office, all shiny and happy, together with a harem of four drool-worthy men. Tsunade had sputtered her coffee out of her nose when they came inside. When Sakura had showed her the scrolls, she believed her. The Four Celestial beasts had taken on the form of humans to better blend in. Their disguise were civilians from Kiri who were on a trip to Konoha, and they had the the headbands of Kiri nin for protection. Tsunade got the passports for them while she gaped, looking at them. They were so beautiful she couldn't grasp the concept. Godly creatures. They stayed with the girl for the time being, but it seemed like they wanted to stay. The Godaime sighed deeply into her tea mug. She wished Shizune hadn't found that saké bottle yesterday in the secret box inside the roof. Then she shrugged and put on her white Kage coat, preparing for a meeting with a few hidden village leaders who had appointed it to discuss something about Sunagakure. She cracked her neck and was out the door.

* * *

><p><em>The Man With a Borrowed Eye Hatake Kakashi<em>

He had tired of the Genin teams. They didn't contribute to anything, and most failed his initial bell tests. None understood the concept of team work, none was interesting, none was strong. He decided one day when a Genin boy of his team couldn't even throw a kunai straight, he didn't need this anymore. He had appointed a meeting with the Hokage and asked her to be submitted back into ANBU. She had agreed with a frown on her face, but she would have been foolish not to let him back. He was an asset and he was famous for his skills, so she let him back in. Kakashi was pleased and thought life would maybe turn to be a bit more interesting before the fox boy came back to patch up Team Seven.

A day when clouds were looming in the sky, ominously telling of soon to come rain, he was requested to the Hokage's office. The blond, busty woman sat at her desk, looking at a few files when he made his appearance known. He wore his old mask and his ANBU outfit, which still fit him. Tsunade didn't look up at him when she addressed the Copy Nin.

"You are to go on a mission to Sunagakure. I need this scroll delivered to the Kazekage with highest priority. Your teammate will be a new recruit, so look after her the best you can. She has been on a few high ranked missions before, I believe it's been seventeen A-ranks so far, but this is her first S-rank mission. Guide her. You're to go straight away." She produced a scroll from the stacks of paper on her desk and gave it to him.

"Yes, Godaime-sama." He drawled and accepted the scroll, to safely tuck it into his backpack.

"She's waiting for you at the gates. I expect you to arrive in Suna within four days. The Kazekage knows of your mission and will accept you into the village accordingly."

"Yes."

"You're dismissed. Go, go." She ushered with her finger and started signing the paper in front of her with a frown on her face. Kakashi shrugged and poofed away.

When he arrived at the point of the entrance to the village, he at first didn't find her. But then a flicker of chakra to his right made him turn around. She had tried to mask her chakra? How cute, he thought. He'd have to teach the new recruit a bit about masking chakra, it seemed. When he turned around, he saw through the slits of his mask the kunoichi appear. She had the usual ANBU clothing, as well as a blank mask which covered her hair.

"Yo. What's your given name?" Kakashi greeted with a sleazy salute. The kunoichi stood silently at the gate, with her backpack slung casually over her shoulder.

"Utsuro Sen." She answered, her voice muffled by the mask.

"I have heard about you. You're that Blank Face that's been climbing the ranks." He said as he remembered hearing it from Genma. A kunoichi that had a small frame and an unusual blank mask, yet she succeeded with her missions gallantly and so earned higher ranked missions from the Godaime.

"Guess so." She answered simply. Kakashi noted a familiar tone to her voice, but he couldn't place it in his head.

"Your voice sounds very familiar." He stated, looking at her more closely through his mask. Something was off about the way she moved, as if she strained herself to move differently than from what she was used to.

"Oh? Yours too." She answered and produced a map, to see which route to Sunagakure would be the fastest.

"Ah, well. We shouldn't probe any further on each other's identities." Kakashi concluded and looked over her shoulder to the map.

"Agreed."

"Now, we are to deliver a certain scroll for the Godaime to the Kazekage in Sunagakure, which you should already have been informed of. I have the scroll in my backpack. It's top priority, so we'll need to move fast. I am to act as the leader of this mission, since it's your first S-rank. I think this route," he said and trailed his finger on the map,"would be the fastest way."

"I agree... Taichou, then. But this turn here, the missing nin territory around the Sekai Forest, I think we should go through it." She pointed at the forest area of the map and Kakashi wrinkled his nose.  
>"Hm, no. Since it would be troublesome if we happened upon some of those."<br>"It would be faster if we went that way. And still, if we just so happened upon a few missing nin, what would it matter?"  
>"A delay, perhaps."<p>

"Not if we move fast. I recognise your silver hair, it's quite obvious who you are. If what-"  
>"Is that so? I would suggest not to mouth my identity loudly, whatever your presumption."<p>

"Oh. I will not. But if what I presume is true, who you are, then you will certainly be able to handle a few missing nin. And in a fast way, without causing a delay."

"That depends on you. If you are prepared to get hurt and bear the consequences, I will agree. However, I will not carry you to Suna. I will leave you and finish the mission if needed be."

"It's a deal, then." She said with an amused tone as she packed the map down into her backpack.

"This is ridiculous... Always the new recruits, eager to prove themselves." Kakashi muttered under his breath as he fastened the clips of his backpack tighter. If the kunoichi heard his annoyed declaration, she acted as if nothing had been said. They nodded at each other and set off into the trees, jumping and hopping on the branches in a blur.

The pace was fast. They were somewhat synced in their movements and in stamina, even though he could see she strained herself to keep up with him. At one point, a few hours later into the day, she had almost stumbled. But she had been fast to cover up her slight mistake, and ran up beside him, as if nothing had happened. He didn't comment on it, and he didn't drop the pace. The kunoichi needed to realise the urgency of the mission, and her physical strength needed to be on par with the priority of it.

When they had been running in silence for most of the day and it was well into the afternoon, they took a water break in a clearing of the forest. Dehydration was always to be avoided, and it would be foolish if a shinobi fell because of it. When the kunoichi turned to shuffle through her backpack to find her water bottle, she bent down and he saw her pale neck show. Her bandana held her hair up as well as it hid it and the mask covered her face, but her neck was clear. He saw a few clearly differently coloured rhombus figures displayed at her spine, at the nape of her neck. They shimmered in the late afternoon light, as if they were engraved diamonds inserted into her skin. He broke the silence then.

"What are those? The rhombus tattoos on your neck." Kakashi asked the kunoichi and she reached unconsciously to touch them gently as she rose, holding the water bottle with the other hand. Her blank mask looked up at him, giving nothing away.

"Well, I have modulated my animal summonings to the seals on my neck. If I touch one of them with my blood and cite an unique incantation, I can summon them without the scroll." She explained as she opened the cap of the bottle and slightly pushed her mask up, so he could see her mouth for a second before she put the bottle to her lips, drinking hungrily.

"Sounds handy. But difficult. How did you learn to do it?" He asked, his interest peaking a tiny bit as he produced a straw from his backpack, to drink inconspicuously from his own water bottle. She gave him a shrug.

"Hard work, a lot of research on medical literature and theories on chakra infusion research, and I also acquired it because of the guidance of my animal summonings. It's easier since my summonings shared their chakras with me once, so we have some kind of connection. Similar to a bond, but physical." She said and drank a bit more water, tilting the bottle slightly to her mouth. He saw that her skin was pale and creamy underneath the mask, but not much else.  
>"What is your animal summoning? Sounds interesting." Kakashi asked as slurped from his straw.<p>

"That's a secret." She answered, with a lilt in her tone. Deciding it was enough, she put the water bottle back into her backpack. He eyed her silently, then he sniffed.

"Boring." He drawled and let the subject drop, sipping on his straw.

They went up into the tree tops again a few minutes later, continuing with their former pace with renewed strength in their tree hopping. When the night fell, they started a camp to sleep for a few hours. Kakashi took the first watch and let the airy silence of the night seep into his stirring soul. The next day they continued, running hard through the subsiding forestation. It took a slight toll on him and he cursed his lack of stamina which was a side effect of playing a teacher for little Genin teams for a year or so. He focused on his breathing and couldn't care less of the sweat dripping down his skin.

When they arrived in Sunagakure four days later, they were exhausted. Yet they went straight to the Kazekage's office and delivered the scroll without trouble. They slept for six hours in a hostel, a luxury they had taken on themselves, and were up and running once again the next early day.

When a day had passed of running and skipping over tree branches and trying to shake off the sand in their boots, Kakashi stopped running. They were on the path leading to the Sekai forest and he had been expecting a few missing nin. But not the missing nin he recognised from the Bingo Books. The three infamous missing nin were walking towards them on the same path and Kakashi heard them shout to each other when they saw the kunoichi besides him.

"It's One Sword Cherry! I swear I recognise that katana." One of them pointed to her direction, blatantly obvious.

"Isn't that the new one, with that large bounty on her head, the Cherry?" The other agreed and snorted, preparing kunais in his hand.

"Are you sure it's her?" The missing nin with a straw hat smirked with murderous eyes, drawing his axe from the holster.

"Yeah, I heard she's got a blank mask on sometimes. I'm sure!"

"Alright, let's take her in." The third man grinned and prepared himself for a sprint.

When Kakashi was about to flip around and finish them off before they could move, there was already blood splatter on the ground. Red liquid ran in coils on the ground. He blinked. She was just _too_ _fast_, having slit the first man's throat in a moment, cut off the other man's head and the third man still had the katana stuck in his chest, gurgling blood in confusion as she pressed it into his heart. They hadn't stood a chance. She slit out the katana from his chest and he took his last breath as he fell to the ground in a lifeless heap of flesh, the straw hat laying abandoned besides his body. Three corpses were on the ground and the ANBU stood in the middle of it, as if in all her glory. Kakashi flash stepped up to her just in time to hear her say something under her breath.

"Two hundred and six." The blank faced kunoichi mumbled and bowed to the corpses on the soil as she slid the bloodied humming katana back into the scabbard on her back. Kakashi frowned. She turned around to him then and that blank mask blared at him with so much nothingness. Kakashi glanced grimly at the dead bodies on the ground, understanding what she meant by the number. But why did she count her kills? And had she really killed that many?

"Don't you do it, too?" She broke the silence and he snapped his head up. Through the slits of her mask, he could almost see her eyes. They looked at him sadly.

"What?" He asked and eyed her casual stance, seemingly standing so arrogantly over the corpses.

"Don't you count your kills? How many you have taken the lives of?" She asked again. Kakashi was perplexed by her question, yet he found himself answering the girl.

"I... I did before. Then it just became what it was - a habit. To kill. Now, for me, to kill simply means to slice a bundle of flesh. To stop a heartbeat. And I have long forgotten the number of my kills."

"It's just not that simple though, is it?" She asked, her head cocked to one side.

"No. I still remember my first kill. I didn't know the kunoichi, she was simply there, an enemy nin. And I reacted to my training, to the hard drills, when she was about to hit my teammate with chakra laden scalpels, and I just threw my kunai into her chest. It hit the heart accordingly and she looked at me. As if she was surprised. As if she had never expected to even die... And I don't even remember her face." He confessed, splaying his hands in the air. He said nothing more. Wanted to say nothing more.

"I see." The ANBU kunoichi only stated and then she produced the map of their route.

"Let's leave it at that. Next," she said and pointed to the map, "is the center of the Sekai forest. I think we'll be able to go through it smoothly from now on, as we did on our way to Suna."

"Yes." He said and nodded, trying to leave the bad taste caused by the memory of his first kill in, to let it stay behind in the path of the forest floor when they jumped up into the trees, as she stuffed the map back into her pocket.

A few hours later they started a camp for the night. Utsuro Sen started a fire and looked into her backpack for rice. Kakashi looked at her huddled form, remembering the dead missing nin. Something they had said perked his interest.

"Why did they call you Cherry? Are you in the Bingo Books?" He broke their silence and she snapped her head up.

"Yes. I destroyed the Snow Daimyo's castle and assassinated him. Apparently it was enough to earn a place there." She murmured as she looked down on the boiling rice, stirring it with a sleeve.

"Ah. That was... Unexpected. But why Cherry?" He asked, walking up to her.

"You'll just have to find out why." Her tone was amused and he sat down besides her, to roll out the dried sea weed.

"You're a tricky one, aren't you? Sen." He smirked.

"Maybe, Taichou." She answered and cocked her head.

"You're making me want to rip off that blank mask, you know. I am certain I recognise your voice. You're a new recruit in ANBU. You're in the Bingo Books. How come I haven't heard of you?" He poked, disregarding the fact that their identities were meant to remain unknown.

"It seems you're forgetting something, Taichou." She rose from her sitting position, cracking her neck. "A shinobi must be left unseen. Unknown. To truly succeed." The kunoichi with the given name Utsuro Sen said went to get some more water from the nearby stream, leaving Kakashi with a faint smirk left on his masked lips.

On the last day before they arrived home again, they had taken a break from the constant running. It was a cool day, with a feather light breeze blowing through the trees. He perched on the branch of a tree above their camp fire and the kunoichi had went to fish in the little stream near their base. Kakashi read sleazily in his favourite Icha Icha book as he was suddenly hit with inspiration, an urge, as a leaf swirled past his peripheral vision.

He muttered, produced a pen from his pocket, then scribbled the urge of words down inside his Icha Icha, on the last blank page.

"And bending down beside the glowing embers,  
>murmur, a little sadly, how freedom and death fled,<br>and paced upon the mountains overhead,  
>and hid her face amid a crowd of stars"<p>

A voice, clear as day, pronounced his written words. The kunoichi had appeared behind him on the tree branch, she had read the lines he had scribbled down over his shoulder. He hadn't noticed her presence. Damnit, Kakashi thought as he stuffed his Icha Icha back into his pocket, how come she learnt from his little tips on masking chakra so fast? He growled, yet he felt his ears turn hot. Poetry was a simple extra hobby and he didn't write much anymore, yet he sometimes found himself scribbling down a few lines in his books. It was not known, and he wanted to keep it that way.

"That was quite beautiful." She remarked, then she jumped off the branch and walked away to their camp with dead fish in her hands, leaving him in the green foliage of the tree.

* * *

><p><em>The Man of Shadows Shimura Danzō<em>

She arrived back into the village from Sunagakure, on a mission directly ordered from the Hokage. He asked her the mission details, but it seemed even she didn't know the contents of the scroll. He let her rest a few hours before they started training in the Root quarters. When she arrived, she had showered and seemed to be clean with her skin shining, yet he heard the slight crackle of sand inside her shoes when she walked. They trained well into the night, him giving her directions of the katas she was performing. When he left the quarters to go to sleep, he left her unconscious in the training area.

A day went by, and he sent her together with the Root member Sai to an undercover mission in Storm Country for a few days. It went perfectly well. Sai had proved to be a good pawn to his intentions and he thought that the Root member had been forged into a perfectly emotionless weapon. Danzō then left a few hints to the Hokage about Sai being admitted into ANBU, but it was denied.

A week went by and Haruno Sakura had a regular spot in T&I since she was the only one that could handle her poisons and she was later let in to the physical torture department. The interrogators started to greet her with respect after having seen her with the katana she wielded and used. Danzō was almost proud of the girl, but he didn't recognise the feeling so he left it at that.

A month went by and he trained the girl until she fell unconscious because of over-exhaustion each night. She was almost broken, he thought, but as the saying goes 'What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.' He was determined to make her stronger, more capable. Or she wouldn't be successful with her mission that was nearing in time.

Two months went by like a simple breath and he found himself discussing Konohagakure's ancient politics with her late at nights after their training sessions. She actually proved a few points about some of the ancient laws he had missed, and it didn't anger him that she did. He found it interesting.

Three months passed by and he saw how he had changed her, coal turning to diamond. He let her have no free time whatsoever, no time for family or friends. Making her into the perfect weapon was almost like a recurring goal for him now, so there was no time to waste. He saw how she became more and more emotionless at heart and it pleased him. Yet she always bore those unnerving burning eyes, as if she had her own purpose for this.

Four months passed in the blink of an eye and he suddenly let her handle the Root reports flowing in, filing and inspecting them. And then she suddenly had the authority to give a few orders, for Root members underneath her. She had somehow become his right hand, and he didn't trust her, but damn she was effective. He didn't give her the classified files, but he was near to giving in to the impulse.

Four and a half months passed by and he let her see his arm. When she had seen the eyes, all activated Sharingan, she had smirked. She had told him it was perfect. He had been puzzled, he had thought her reaction would be more... Disgusted, disapproving, questioning. But no, she had asked to be trained with them activated on her instead, to fell her with the Genjutsu. To inspect them in a medical sense as well, to see how they worked and functioned. And he had somehow let her, because of her mission The Assassination of the Last Fan which was nearing in time. To be able to fight the Uchiha, of course she had to understand the concept of Sharingan.

She researched his arm, he allowed her to take samples with his supervision, and she developed a drug within a few weeks that made the chakras from the implanted Sharingan eyes incorporate better with his own life force. He had been suspicious at first, but then he remembered her ceremonial trial. When she had swallowed both the pills he had given her, with her own life on the line. And so when he accepted the drug, he could see better. The world cleared, shone brighter. He felt the chakras bundle gently together and the constant ache in his arm disappeared. That was when he let her see the classified files. She was officially his right hand.

Five months had passed by and he saw himself in the kunoichi. It was soon time for the Assassination of the Last Fan mission and the Uzumaki idiot would come back from training with Jiraya within a month, if his Root sources were correct. She was as ready as she could be, he had made sure of it. He had let her search through his secret files on the Uchiha Clan. She had come to understand their dynamics, their traditions and most of all; their blood line limit. She had learnt how to break through one of his easier Genjutsus that he had used on her with two of the implanted eyes on his arm. However, he knew that a real Uchiha's eyes were stronger than his implanted ones. She perhaps had to cover her own eyes while fighting him, or she'd risk falling prey for the Sharingan's illusional powers.

But she had to be successful. A lot depended on the completion of her mission.

* * *

><p><em>The Powerful Drunk Senju Tsunade<em>

Tsunade sighed angrily and swatted absentmindedly at a fly buzzing near her ear. She had just arrived back into the Hokage's Office from a meeting with the Council and she allowed herself a little pause. Irritation flooded her mind. The recent political discussions had gone to her head. The bastards from Kirigakure was way out of their minds. What were they thinking? Accusing Sunagakure for stealing their trade consciously? Tsunade clenched her teeth hard as she eyed the buzzing fly. Did they want to start a war? The Kazekage did not take such insults lightly, Sunagakure was a proud village. They wouldn't let it go, and Kirigakure knew that. Kirigakure had three other villages backing them up on it already and Tsunade suspected that they wanted to stir things up, but for what purpose exactly, she didn't know. The latest report on Kirigakure's activities lay in front of her on the desk, blaring at her. She knit her brows together and gallantly started folding the paper with slender, long fingers. She let the paper fold and fold, and she turned it around and folded it again, bending the paper report to her will. When she was finished folding it, it had turned into a dishevelled form of a leaf. The buzzing fly reminded itself of its existence when it whirled past her ear. In a moment she closed her eyes, breathing deeply.

She flicked the dishevelled leaf paper fast with her finger and thumb, and a second later it was stuck on the other side of the room, pinning a dead fly to the wood of the wall.

* * *

><p><em>The Man With a Borrowed Eye Hatake Kakashi<em>

When he came back to Konohagakure with the blank face Utsuro Sen from their latest mission, he let himself smell the fresh yet musty scents of his home. The S-ranked mission to Storm Country had gone well and the kunoichi was even more experienced now, having accepted and completed the whole of seven S-ranked missions since the first day they met. Since that day five months ago that she had seen his poem in his Icha Icha. However, Kakashi still couldn't place her identity and it bothered him a _whole_ lot, but all the same he had fallen in sync with her rhythm - whoever she was.

She was easy to cope with and didn't talk unnecessarily, yet she was pleasant to converse with when he felt like it. Her intellect was astounding and she knew very much about almost anything. He knew she must have devoured Konoha's library wholly. Utsuro Sen was a mystery and a pleasant teammate. He didn't need to know more than that, he knew, yet he just couldn't stop pondering the different possibilities on her real identity. He knew she knew that he was Hatake Kakashi, she had been clear on that on their first S-ranked mission together. So she did have the upper hand. Kakashi sighed deeply then, he had to stop thinking about it. It would just eat him up.

They strolled on the streets of Konoha from the gates, and Kakashi felt a slight smile fall on his masked lips as he enjoyed the view of the scurrying villagers, the children playing in the street, the light shuffle of feet on the roof tops of hurrying shinobi. It was a nice little village he lived in, he decided. Utsuro Sen wandered besides him, seemingly in a similar mode to his. He saw in her movements that she was comfortable and knew her way in the confusing streets without much trouble.

In a moment, a man ran and accidentally bumped into the kunoichi. She almost fell to the ground but regained her stance with a cat like move, drawing back from the tumbling man. Kakashi stared at the young man who had bumped into her, not quite believing it was _him_. The kunoichi coughed and gasped, her hands shaking slightly as she saw the stranger's hair colour shine more brightly than the sun. In one swift movement without visible regret, she ripped off her blank mask and threw it on the ground and Kakashi's heart stopped. Pink hair flooded down her shoulders in cascades and apple green eyes glinted in the late sun light. She stared at the man on the ground who rubbed the back of his blond hair with a pout on his face, not quite looking up at the young ANBU standing in front of him. A group of children ran past them, Konohamaru at the front, not seeing the stranger on the ground. They had probably been chasing him.

"_Naruto_?"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

Hi peeps! Sorry for the late update. You know, life hit me pretty hard last week. Telling me that no, society and grown-up expectations doesn't only crave your humongous coffee consumption, they want more from you. Like school work, part time job, knowing what to do with your life since you plan on changing the course of the college program. LIFE. Ugh.

Either way, I have gotten such lovely feedback on my last chapter. So, right on to the poll!

**No, Sakura doesn't need to fall in love **- **3 votes**

**Sakura should fall in love with:**

:::_Neji_::: **3 votes**

:::_Shika_::: **2 votes**

:::_Sasuke_::: **2 votes**

:::_Kakashi_::: **2 votes**

:::_Sai:::_ **1 vote**

:::_Ino:::_ **1 vote**

This tells me that the majority of you guys thinks she should _not_ fall in love and the rest thinks she should fall in love with Neji. A lot of mixed emotions about this, and a lot of you people said you needed to wait a bit before you could state your opinion since Naruto and Sasuke and Itachi hasn't made their appearances in front of Sakura yet. I will take this into consideration when writing further. I have a plan devised, you know. And I might might might throw in something fun, according to your wishes. However, the poll continues until I find one of your explanations perfect and fitting!

What do you guys think of the Four Celestial Beasts? Are they good enough? Powerful enough? Or too powerful? But I mean, since Naruto's got a gigantic powerful toad and Sasuke a gigantic badass snake in Canon, _why the fuck did Sakura get a gigantic slimy snail_? I mean, just no. No. So I might have exaggerated her animal summons a teeny weeny bit, but eh. Meh.

Is it believable that Kakashi went back to ANBU? Is his character too out of place? I have a hard time understanding him. It's too shallow, just thinking he's always late, that he loves Icha Icha and that he's got a badass Sharingan. I want something more from him than that.

So, I'm currently in a lonely desert of lost good fanfiction stories. Please help.

**What is the best Sakura-centric fic you've ever read? **Halp plz

_sidenote:_

And I gotcha all there, didn't I? In Neji's dream. Meheh. And you might have noticed I love cliffhangers.

Love you guys as much as cheesy cliffhangers!

xx fascalia


	11. Team Seven and That Girl

**Transition**

Sakura is perceived from the perspectives of others as she changes during the years into something else entirely. The people near her follows her transition closely and when she starts abandoning everything she held dear - she gets closer and closer to her goal.

Chapter 11

Team Seven and That Girl

Through the Eyes of a Fox Boy, a Powerful Alcoholic and a Shy Beauty

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><p><em>The Fox Boy Uzumaki Naruto<em>

"Naruto?" Kakashi let his mask go, settling it over his silver head and then he looked at the pink haired girl in front of him. He frowned, with one wide eye. "Sakura?" He asked, the same confusion in his voice.

"Huh?" Naruto took in the appearance of his former sensei and the pink haired girl in front of him. Sakura? Haruno Sakura? He rose from the sitting position and looked closely at the girl. He wrinkled his nose when he smelt something come off the girl. She reeked of the want for blood, murdering killing intent. Her hair was long and petal hued and flowing and her apple green eyes were hard. His breath hitched.

"Wait, no. You're not Sakura." He breathed and reflexively pulled into a defensive stance. She flinched.

"Who are you? Where's Sakura-chan?" He lashed out, gripping his kunai hard which he had produced forth in an instant.

"Naruto. It's... me?" She said, perplexed at his hostile outburst, backing away.

"Sakura is innocent and pure and you're _not_! Sakura-chan doesn't have that aura, she doesn't reek of blood! It's a _henge_! Don't you see?" He turned to Kakashi who slowly shook his head, only looking at him.

"It's an _enemy nin!_ Infiltrating Ko-"

"Shut up, Naruto. She has just changed." Kakashi smacked the young man on his head with the neon orange book, hard. Naruto startled, his eyes wide as he flinched. Then he turned to really look at his former teammate, followed by Kakashi. Kakashi looked just as much unbelieving at the girl as Naruto did. No wonder, she was an entirely different presence.

"Sakura-chan? It really is you?" He asked, and his cerulean eyes shone. He stretched, touched her arm, and then gently, yet hesitantly embraced her. She returned it awkwardly.

"Yes, you _idiot_." She murmured into the depths of his neon orange jacket. She was shorter than him now and it somehow pleased him. She looked up at him, her brows furrowed. Green glinting eyes.

"That's more like it." He grinned, finally. "That's such a Sakura-chan-thing to say. It's really been a long time!" He cheered and he almost forgot she had changed. Then he looked more closely at her outfit. With raised eyebrows he gaped and let her go to study her. She blinked.

"And... wait. Wait. You're _ANBU_?" He asked, his voice surprisingly hard.

Naruto then remembered baa-chan's words he had received that morning when he and Jiraya had reported to be back at the Hokage's office. _'I'm just warning you. Don't expect Sakura to be the same girl you left, brat. She won't scream loudly, she won't hit you because of something you said inappropriately... But if she does hit you, and probably with good reason if she does, you won't like it. You won't be leaving with just a bruise.'_

"Well, yeah. Kakashi as well." She answered hesitantly. "You're not supposed to know, though. But I couldn't help revealing myself when-when it was you..." She trailed off. Naruto looked at Kakashi, who seemed to still be pondering the fact that she was ANBU as he regarded the blank mask she had worn, laying abandoned on the soil of the street. Naruto figured Kakashi hadn't known it was her either, and they had probably been working together. Naruto realised it must be hard on Kakashi as well, seeing his former student at his side, working with dangerous missions ordered by the Hokage. Naruto stared at her again, taking in her slender yet strong figure. She bit her lip, looking down on her feet. Perhaps this wasn't the kind of reunion she had expected.

"Are those... Scars?" The blond man looked wide eyed at her body, taking in the half moon shaped and pink coloured burn marks visible on her arm, the hideous red tinted slash across her palm, the little shallow scars adorning her creamy skin. She blinked.

"Yes?" She asked, her burning green eyes meeting his cerulean ones.

"Don't- but, I don't..." He stuttered, not knowing what to make of it. He just couldn't comprehend it. The smell of blood on her hands. Her hard, shinobi-like eyes. Her scars. Her being ANBU. His mind was almost near on to imploding. He waved his hands violently in defiance, not looking at her. Anywhere but her.

"I don't like this Sakura." He whispered, knowing his words probably stung, yet he turned around and jumped up on the roof top, running fast away from the two former members of Team Seven. It was not supposed to have happened this way. He jumped over the roof tops, going anywhere and nowhere. Naruto had imagined that when he returned, Sakura would be a pretty Medic, greeting him with a smile on a sunny day. Out of harm's way, out of death's way, out of the way of the mental scars that came with death, she would be in the back to heal. But she wasn't innocent any longer. She was scarred, she was bloodied, she was dirty - as if she was a true shinobi. He felt it, what she was, he could smell it, sense it. But she was _supposed_ to have been cheerful, happy and yet annoying at times, to be a gentle Medic in the back, someone normal, supposed to have been that bridge between him and Teme. But he wondered if she would only destroy that bridge now, if she ever even lightly touched it.

He leapt off a chimney and fell tumbling to the ground, touching the ground lightly with his feet pushing into the soil, continuing to run anywhere and nowhere. And then he found himself jumping in the tree tops within the Forest of Death and nostalgia hit him hard. He ran up a tree and found a large branch which he sat heavily down on. He leaned against the the tree's bark and let out a long, deep breath, closing his eyes. The breeze in the tree tops were soothing, the rustle of leaves beneath him peaceful, yet his inner feelings were in a turmoil. Of lost innocence, of a lost girl. He bit his lip, squeezing his eyes. He needed to meditate. He folded his legs together, crossing each other and he breathed deeply once again, letting his mind drift away. Away from everything.

A few hours later he opened his eyes as he felt a presence nearing him, fast. In a rush of leaves whirling around, she stood in front of him. His mind was blank, from meditating so long, and he blinked at her.

"Here you are, sulking all by yourself." She said, tilting her head slightly to the side. She had changed into a red top together with a beige skirt and he found the clothes soothing, somewhat. Like this is what his Sakura would have looked like had she not changed.

"You found me." He stated and grumpily turned his head away. He still couldn't accept it. Accept her.

"Want to see a trick?" She asked and he didn't answer her, as he looked away. But that little nagging interest in the back of his mind made him turn around his head to look at her, the girl who reeked of blood. Sakura shuffled through her pocket and found what she was looking for; a little round and oblong container. Then she screwed the cork off and Naruto saw what it was. She gently blew through the hole of the stick and several soap bubbles swiftly came into existence, swirling in the breeze of the wind. In one movement, she mumbled a little jutsu and whispered 'kai'. Suddenly, the bubbles floating in the air glowed. A blue light within them made them glow like little stars. They illuminated the still night and somehow, started to multiply. The tree they sat on was covered in the blue light and the bubbles glistened around them. She smiled widely at him.

"Come on, Naruto. There's no angry way to say bubbles." She said and her apple green eyes were soft. Naruto frowned; was that a challenge?

"_Bubbles_!" He screamed angrily, defiantly, and surprise hit him hard. Sakura almost fell from the tree laughing. It had sounded so... Childish? He was perplexed. Was he being childish because Sakura had changed? The blue bubbles floated in the air, stirring, then they multiplied again. They drifted off and Naruto saw them floating towards Konoha, out from the Forest of death.

"It looks even more beautiful from the Hokage mountain." The pinkette said lowly and sprinted off the tree, leaving a scent of fresh flowers and mint behind. Naruto wanted to continue with his grumbling, and sulk alone in the tree, but he found himself following after her either way. When they reached the top of the Hokage mountain they had a perfect view of the village in the darkness of the night in front of them, displayed beneath their feet. The shining blue bubbles drifted through and over the buildings and streets, giving off dreamy dim blue lights. They sparkled and were simply beautiful as they hovered in the air, drifting away into nowhere. It looked like the night sky had fallen and draped itself over the village, the stars replacing the bubbles.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Sakura breathed. Her long hair was messily tied into a bun on top of her head, her creamy complexion reflecting the stars and her profile was mesmerising.

"Yeah, 'ttebayo." Naruto grumbled, yet agreed. He felt something in his chest pound hard and he noticed it was a sense of longing. He had longed for the sweet pink haired girl he had left behind, and what he had found was a blood drenched diamond. Yet, who was he to blame her? He had changed as well, though not in the same way. He sniffed and noticed she was looking at him. There was so much sadness and nostalgia in the depths of the green in her eyes that Naruto almost bit his lip.

"I missed you, Naruto. Let's patch up Team Seven together." She said and looked into his eyes. Her green glinting orbs were so deep and Naruto felt his chest turn into fire.

"I... I missed you, too, Sakura-chan. And I-I'm sorry. For earlier. I just couldn't believe you could have changed _that_ much." He frowned and scratched the back of his blond hair. "I still can't believe it."

"It's fine. I actually don't know myself much anymore." She whispered, as she pushed her knees up to under her chin. Naruto silently studied her suddenly smaller form when she gazed out into the village, letting her take in the scenery slowly. She breathed and closed her eyes.

"It all started with Izanami." She murmured. It seemed like she opened herself up to him, and Naruto was somewhat pleased. Maybe he would understand why she had changed into someone who seemed to revel in carnage. And why she had changed.  
>"Who's that?" He asked, letting go of his suspicions and childishness.<p>

"My katana." She opened her eyes and pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. Naruto saw a sleek black katana strapped on her back. He squinted his eyes at it and felt a powerful hum come off the sword. It was a dark chakra. Very dark. He almost shivered.

"It's alive?" He asked, already knowing the answer. It reeked.

"Yeah. It isn't that strange really, me having a Goddess of Death as the embodiment of a sword, since you have a Nine-tailed Beast inside your stomach."  
>"True. Goddess of Death? What's she like?"<br>"She's a thousand years old, if not more. Beautiful and bloodthirsty." She said simply and Naruto wanted to say 'just like you', but he bit it down. She'd probably not appreciate hearing that.

"Sounds like Kurama, except for the beautiful part. He's got an ugly mug." Naruto sniggered and grinned mischievously.

**Boy, you're being childish.**

Deep inside Naruto's mind, the nine-tailed fox Kurama commented with a deep voice and snorted within his cage, swirling his tails around, and Naruto flicked him off outside the bars while sticking out his tongue. They had developed a special kind of bond during the recent years. Some kind of relationship, almost. Sakura smiled surprisedly.

"I never would have thought that we'd have something like this in common." She let out the words together with a light laugh.  
>"What?" He asked confusedly. Something in common with Sakura?<br>"We both have beasts near us, talking to us and trying to get us to give in to the hatred." She explained and tilted her cheek against her up folded knees.

"Izanami is like that as well? She'd get along well with Kurama, 'ttebayo." Naruto stated and nodded. So she had a demon as well. That explained a lot of the blood smell.

"Probably." The pink haired kunoichi at his side smiled gently and her fingers grazed the hilt of the katana strapped at her back. Her eyes seemed to flash white in the moon light, then it was gone. Naruto blinked. A play with the starry night lights must have been reflected in them, he figured.

"Do you want to meet her?" Sakura asked then, loosening the sword from its scabbard. Naruto widened his eyes slightly as she held the sharp sword in her grip in front of him. It hummed with black powerful chakra, seeping around the edges as a smoke-like snake coiling around it.  
>"I can do that?" He asked, lifting his head up to meet her eyes. They were pale green.<p>

"Yeah, if you touch her and she lets you see her, you can meet her. She's saying you're interesting. She'll let you. But I have to warn you; she is powerful. Be humble."

The pink haired former teammate of his reached out the katana towards him and he didn't hesitate when he accepted the sword, gripping the black old hilt carefully. He wanted to meet Sakura's demon. He figured he would in control, since he was so used to his own creature of hatred. A sudden heaviness fell on his whole being and he was drained away. He didn't feel anything, didn't see, didn't hear, didn't smell, didn't feel his own breath.

Darkness was everywhere. It was like he had turned blind, tangled in the arms of subconsciousness, yet he could see a figure float towards him in the murky atmosphere. As it came closer, his breath hitched. The woman was extremely beautiful. With sleek long black hair flowing around her in cascades, her glinting eyes and the red ruby adorning her forehead he knew that she was a goddess. Her perfect face displayed a diverted smirk, but she didn't look at him with those coal black eyes, framed by rows of long eye lashes. The fallen goddess called Izanami looked behind him, over his head.

In a slow movement, he turned his face around. _He_ was there. The beast inside him, uncaged. It was as if he had followed Naruto there, into the depths of the mind of the katana. The gigantic fox loomed over him with his large frame, yet he was laying casually behind him and stared at the goddess of carnage with amused eyes.

"Hello, Izanami. It's been a millennia or two." The large dangerous nine-tailed beast growled lowly in a greeting, flicking his ear.

"Little furry fox." The Goddess of Death purred and smirked. "Always a pleasure."

Naruto felt his heart beat faster. The two inhuman beings emanated such a powerful presence he felt cold sweat break at the nape of his neck.

"You have found a cute little container, haven't you?" She drawled and finally, her coal black orbs found his. Naruto cringed, feeling his heart almost leap out of his chest.

"Humans shackled me to this brat. And he's not especially cute." Kurama growled.  
>"But oh no, fox, you shouldn't lie to yourself. I see your attachment to the little boy clearly." She snickered and Kurama snorted. Naruto finally found his thoughts, his words, his voice.<p>

"Wow! Baa-chan, you're _really_ pretty!" Was all he could muster as he blurted the words, his wide blue eyes still taking in the shapely form of her being. For a moment, the Goddess of Death looked slightly baffled. Kurama roared with rumbling animalistic laughter and Naruto saw a smirk ghost on the enticing lips of the heavenly demon woman in front of him.

"Little boy. You are the first one in this filthy world that has ever called me 'baa-chan'." She whispered amusedly, like the rustle of leaves in the wind it reached his ears. Naruto frowned.

"But you're old, aren't you? Sakura-chan said something about a thousand of years." He muttered, not caring about the powerful presence of the godly woman in front of him. "But you're still pretty."  
>"I would rather not be perceived as only that, little boy. I am the Goddess of Carnage, not just a pretty 'baa-chan'." She said and her eyes were never ending.<p>

"I know, and I'm sorry. But all I have seen of you is your face, not your achievements nor accomplishments, baa-chan." He explained and looked up at her floating form. Suddenly, he felt small when she looked down on him. Like an ant, easily crushed.

"Indeed. I believe you would rather not, anyway." She smirked arrogantly and then Naruto felt killing intent push down, down, down on him. It was like a cold hard rain of swords and blood. The reek of metallic liquid and rotting flesh and squashed maggots and _death_. He almost blanched and gulped heavily, swallowing the vomit in his throat harshly as he shook uncontrollably, falling to the whatever he stood on.

"Don't scare the boy, Izanami." Kurama growled dangerously, his tails swirling around.

"Yes, yes, Kurama." She sighed and let her killing intent drop. "It was just a dip of my presence, that is all." She looked down at Naruto again, her eyes slithering across his body as he tried to stand up again. He did, succeeded, and met her eyes.

"I am called Izanami. Not 'baa-chan'. Teach your container some decency, fox." She said with a hard gaze and Naruto felt himself still, freeze again.

"Calm down, Izanami. He's like that to everyone. Just a few moments ago he called me ugly, and I didn't eat him because of it." The beast snarled. The Goddess looked with squinting beautiful eyes at the jinchuuriki.

"That's just because you can't physically eat him." She stated, flicking her flowing black hair over her shoulder.

"That is not all. He's amusing." Kurama snorted. "And I don't want to eat him entirely. Not nowadays at least. Maybe just a tempting bite, now and then."

"That's not true! Just the other day, you said that together with some pepper and salt would make me into a perfect juicy meat ball." Naruto grumbled.

"And some grilled asparagus as a side dish. Don't forget the asparagus." The Kyuubi snorted. "And I said that because you were mocking me about the amount of tails I have, saying something ridiculous about me making up for something." Kurama laughed roughly and Naruto felt an upcoming grin plaster on his face.

"You bear a very unique relationship to your human, fox." Izanami said, letting her fingers grace her smooth cheek in a pondering posture.

"Yes, over the years, it came to be this way." Kurama replied simply. "My hatred for humans has not dissipated and it never will, but this little one is different. Whenever I try to give him my power, he refuses. It is always when he is in an unstable state of mind, often when his friends are threatened, that he gives in to my offers of power. But he never gives in to the hatred I have tried to feed him with."

"Oh. He is interesting, I will give you that." Izanami said and tilted her head. "Quite like my own container."

"Yes. It has been a pleasure to see you after so long, Izanami. It has been quite a time since we stood side at side on the battlefield." Kurama growled and smirked. The Goddess of Death floated lightly in murky darkness, illuminating the black with her overwhelming presence.

"Indeed. You painted a beautiful mosaic with the blood on the grass, I can recall." She said and Naruto squinted his eyes at the fox.

"Carnage and destruction is a work of art, yes. It's pleasure in its perfected form." The Nine-tails agreed and then looked at Naruto, with those condescending yellow eyes. "It is time to leave. The seals on your stomach, boy, is dragging me back and the pulls are getting harder to ignore."

"Then, until next time, Kurama." Izanami said and didn't blink as the fox bowed deeply down to the demon goddess with his large head. Naruto heaved and then waved at Izanami, wanting to leave just as much the fox had to.

"Bye, scary baa-chan!" He said and the last he saw was that faint smile play on her lips as everything disrupted and thrashed away and suddenly he could smell, feel, touch, hear and then he could see Sakura standing in front of him as he laid on the grass. He was back.

"Oh fuck. She's scary as shit, Sakura-chan." He said and rubbed his eyes. "But really pretty."

"That's just so like you, Naruto." She mumbled and smiled. Naruto saw that the bubbles had started to pop and fade, yet some were still left around the edges of the village down below.

"Kurama tagged along as well. Seemed like they knew each other. All buddy-buddy." He added as he rose from the ground and shook off the dirt. Sakura had picked up the cursed katana the moment he had let go of it, it seemed, as he saw it strapped on her back.

"Really? Well, it seems like the old ones all have some kind of past together." The pinkette said and scratched her head.

"All? There's more?" Naruto asked, almost snorting. What was it with all these surprises lately?

"Well, I have a contract with the Four Celestial Beasts and they knew Izanami since before." She confessed and pointed at her neck as she turned around, showing it to him. There were four rhombus like tattoos on the nape of her thin neck and they glistened in the faded lights of the bubbles.

"What's that? It sounds awesome." Naruto glittered and Sakura laughed.

"These tattoos are a ways for me to summon them with my blood and an incantation. The Four Celestial Beasts are Genbu the black tortoise, Byakko the white tiger, Suzaku the vermillion bird and Seiryu the azure dragon. And-"

"Wait, wait, hold on just a minute. You have a _dragon_ summoning?" Naruto squealed, almost jumping up and down as Sakura confirmed with a nod. "A dragon! How cool is that! A dragon!"

"Calm down, Naruto." Sakura laughed again, the sound unfamiliar to her lips. But it seemed it was settling into her composure better than before. "But, yeah. He's kind of cool."

"A dragon!" He cheered again and couldn't help himself as he grinned and almost fell into a little happy dance. "Can I see him?" He asked pleadingly.

"Not now. I won't summon Seiryu just so you can drool on him." Sakura grinned. "Later, sometime. Maybe when we're practicing. They always watch me when I perform different training methods and they add a few tips on improvement. So you can probably meet him then."

"Can't we do some training right now? Please?" Naruto asked, his eyes wide and blue and excited.

"No." Sakura said and waved him off as his face drooped. "It's too late and it would seem strange to train now. But maybe tomorrow or some day soon?"

"Hell yeah! Sounds awesome. I can't fucking wait. A _dragon_!" Naruto cheered and fist pumped in the air, making the pinkette cover her mouth while laughing.

"Come on. It's late. Let's go home." Sakura said and he nodded with sparkling eyes as they set off the mountain, heading back to their beloved village. They parted with a light hug and he saw Sakura hop off on the buildings to another direction than the one of her parent's home. He frowned, but didn't think more of it.

Naruto had a lot to process that night when he went to sleep in his noodle massacred apartment. He laid in bed and stared at the spider web covered roof as he thought about the happenings of that day. About Sakura's change and her scent of blood and her being in ANBU. Her animal summonings, the azure dragon Seiryu. The demon sword Izanami. A dragon. Kurama knowing Izanami from long ago. A dragon. The shining bubbles and their reunion finally settling in, him almost accepting her change. A dragon.

He squealed again but shut his eyes, trying hard to fall asleep. Yet all he could think about was the badassness of having a dragon summoning.

* * *

><p><em>The Unknown Librarian of the Hokage's Secret Files Senju Kitsune<em>

Kitsune missed the quiet girl who used to only come at night. It was so long ago since she last visited. How would she be able to get her back? When one day she unexpectedly met her on the street, grocery shopping in the afternoon, Kitsune slipped a fast written note in the pinkette's pocket. The note said that Kitsune could show Sakura one of the Forbidden Scrolls if she came to visit that night. It was a not-so well known jutsu developed by Hashirama Senju, then even further studied by Orochimaru. It was a jutsu requiring perfect chakra control and it was called Kaigara-no-jutsu, of which Kitsune knew that Sakura possessed that type of chakra control. This jutsu would tell the chakra in the body to react on impact and directly force a large amount of chakra there, dispelling the attack and at the same time heal most of the wounds inflicted in that particular area instantly. It would make the girl almost invincible in battle.

When that night, the pinkette showed up at her door step, Kitsune couldn't hide her joy. She was 27 years old and she was lonely. She admitted it was kind of pathetic, and most of all illegal, to show the girl the Forbidden Scroll but Kitsune couldn't see the problem; Sakura was a nice girl and the former apprentice of the Hokage. She wouldn't do anything bad. And the scroll would be useful to the girl; it wasn't an offensive attack jutsu - all it did was protect the girl.

Sakura's eyes gleamed in the darkness of the library as she read the scroll and memorised every word. Kitsune was glad. When the pinkette was done reading, she gave the Forbidden Scroll back to Kitsune's expectant hands.

"Thank you, Kitsune. I don't know how to repay you for showing this to me." The girl smiled lovingly and yet her eyes glistened like a diamond in sun light.  
>"Please, don't thank me. Just- maybe, come back sometime soon?" She asked, almost shyly.<p>

"I will. But the night is still young. Why don't we have some tea now and discuss the political climate in Suna?"

"Sounds lovely. Did you hear about the Kazekage's latest political move?" Kitsune asked as she almost bounced to the water boiler. Sakura settled in a chair and nodded.

"Oh, yes. That inclination on the economic situation in the foreign sector..."

* * *

><p><em>The Powerful Drunk Senju Tsunade<em>

"You're to meet up with the Kazekage in Suna. They have gathered some information regarding the Akatsuki's goals and it seems to have something to do with the jinchuurikis and their containers - meaning it concerns you Naruto. I want you to find out what they know. I'm dispatching the remnants of Team Seven for this mission; Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura. To replace the missing spot of Uchiha Sasuke I have come across Sai who will take his place. Do you all understand?"

"Yes, Godaime-sama." They said in unison. Tsunade smiled and looked at the fox boy with a caring gaze. She was glad he was back, that little joyful fox boy, and in the back of her mind she hoped he would affect Sakura. The girl had grown darker and sharper during the last five months and she had reported regularly that Danzō had stepped up her training and it had been excessive. Tsunade knew about the Sharingan eyes medically inserted in the man of shadows' arm and she was disgusted to no end. But this harsh training of his had taken a severe toll on her former apprentice, and so Tsunade hoped that the little boy of the sun would shine his never ending benevolence on her.

The Godaime looked up from the mission file with the informative details and gave it to Kakashi. The man seemed to almost shy away from where Sakura stood besides Naruto and Tsunade knew why. She had deliberately sent them off to missions together as ANBU, since she knew they were used to each other's presences and movements, which would aid the mission rate of success. And, in the corner of her mind, she had wanted Sakura to see another side of the sleazy Copy Nin. That he could prove himself useful, though probably not in terms of coaching a Genin team which Sakura had a first hand experience of. Tsunade still had a sore spot regarding Kakashi, since Sakura had told her she didn't even know the basics of some more advanced justus most other Genin teams had been taught by their assigned teachers. Sakura hadn't even had a signature move when she had become her apprentice. Kakashi had left her to fend for her own and cheer at the side lines.

When the Copy Nin had found out that Utsuro Sen was in actuality Haruno Sakura, he had come to see her. Without a warning beforehand he had appeared in her office, his eye accusing her already. He hadn't been impolite, yet he had asked her why and how come little Sakura had been accepted into ANBU. The Godaime had clenched her teeth at the time and icily told him that Haruno Sakura was perfectly able as ANBU, and he should know it. That the girl was already at Jounin level, but didn't take the test due to other circumstances Kakashi was no part of and so he didn't need to know the reason. The Copy Nin had scowled, bowed and poofed away.

Coming back from her jumbled thoughts, she sharply looked at the old members of Team Seven.

"You will travel to Sunagakure tomorrow, early. I expect you back within nine days." She said as she produced a newly bought saké bottle from her desk. Shizune had the day off and she would use this opportunity to her heart's content.

"Roger that, baa-chan!" Naruto cheered and saluted the Hokage of Konoha.

"Oh, you and your 'baa-chan'! You childish, impudent brat-" Tsunade sizzled and took a grip of her saké bottle, dangerously insinuating she would sacrifice the precious content if it managed to injure the Kyuubi container. Naruto ducked as if she had already thrown the bottle at him. Sakura shook her head.

"And that's our cue to leave." Kakashi chuckled and waved at the Hokage. "In nine days, Godaime-sama." He said and poofed away, already having an Icha Icha in his hand as he disappeared. Sakura dragged Naruto by the ear out the door, with a sly and inconspicuous wink at Tsunade. The Godaime let herself fall back in her chair as the door shut close and sipped from her precious Kameosa, and she smiled.

* * *

><p><em>The Fox Boy Uzumaki Naruto<em>

"Who's this Sai guy that's been assigned to our team? None can replace Teme!" Naruto grumbled as he walked together with the pinkette on the street, heading for Ichiraku's.

"He's fine, Naruto. Just don't be too hard on him. He's a bit similar to our..." Sakura trailed off. "To Sasuke-kun." She finished with a lowered tone.

"What? You've met him before? And he looks like Teme?" Naruto scowled.

"Yes, I've worked with him a couple of times. And he's got the social skills of a rock, just like Sasuke-kun." She said and her eyes were distant.

"Oh shoot. So that Sai guy is all like the 'hn' sound is the equivalent answer to everything?"

"Pretty much so, but the difference is that at least Sai is trying." She smirked and Naruto bit his lip. He could see it hurt her to just say his name, but she coped better than last time he had seen her, years ago. It seemed she wasn't as broken anymore because of Teme.

"Ah, whatever. I don't care. When can you show me your dragon? I wanna meet him!" He said and changed the subject.

"Take it easy, Naruto. It's not like I can just showcase him like a trophy - he is a presence that has the ability to think and feel, you know." She scolded him with a gentle smile.

"But still-"

"In due time, Naruto." She said and he saw her frown, and that should have been a warning but Naruto just couldn't get the thought of a dragon out his head.

"Oh, come on Sakura-chan. It's not fair." Naruto wailed.

"Don't you have animal summonings of your own?" Sakura asked, trying to change the course of the conversation. But Naruto wouldn't let it go so easily.

"Yeah, I formed a contract with the Yakuza Toads which Jiraya introduced me to. They're cool and all, but a dragon_-_"

"Oh for _god's sake_, would you please stop nagging about Seiryu?" Sakura clipped. Naruto sighed and went inside Ichiraku's as they had reached their destination.

"Sorry, sorry." He said and moped silently as they went to the bar. Sakura ordered a nonalcoholic beer, since they had the mission tomorrow early morning. Naruto ordered a bowl of noodles and they settled at a table.

"Have you met up with anyone else?" Sakura asked as Naruto slurped his noodles hungrily, having forgotten all there was to a dragon summoning. Noodles was his way of life and it was almost the same as meditation for him.

"Huh? Met up?"

"Yeah. Like with Kiba, or Shika. Or Hinata." She said and her apple green eyes gleamed.

"Nah, haven't had the time yet. Me and Jiraya had to report a bunch of important shit to Tsunade, about some political situations happening in the other Hidden Villages and stuff. We travelled a lot and learned a lot, so we had to report it." He said and chewed the delicious food.

"That's too bad you haven't had the time. You know what, Hinata told me yesterday that she had something to tell you. Maybe you should go see her tonight?"

"Hinata? What would she want to tell me?" He asked while frowning, noodles hanging unabashedly from his mouth.

"You'll just have to find out." Sakura smirked as she sipped her beer.

"I was supposed to meet up with Jiraya for a bit tonight to review some of my skills, but sure. Why not, if it's important." He said and shrugged. Sakura's smile was hard to make much sense of.

"Great. Meet her at Black Gold, they have the best coffee in Konoha. I think she said six o' clock would be a good time." She told him as she bit her lip, as if trying to bite down a huge grin.

"Alrighty."

* * *

><p><em>The Shy Beauty Hyuuga Hinata<em>

She had seen him. He was back and the butterflies in her stomach wouldn't stop fluttering about. Whenever he neared she still blanched and blushed, but she had gotten better. At least she hadn't passed out this time. The sun shone brighter whenever she saw him and her feelings for him had only grown so much more for the last years spent apart. Not that he would ever notice her feelings for him. He was just that kind of man. And his cheerful spirit always lifted her up in the clouds and she danced in her dreams in the pale moon light.

Hinata was perceptive and she knew that Naruto had somehow lost his childhood feelings for the pink haired girl, or at least they weren't as strong. She saw it in the way he looked at her. He was more confused than ever, and he probably had troubles accepting a no longer innocent Sakura. Hinata knew she still had doubts herself.

Then, three days after his arrival to the village, Sakura had told her that she had a surprise gift for the Hyuuga heiress and that she wanted to meet up with her six o' clock at Black Gold. Hinata pulled on one of her usual purple jackets and went. When she sat at the outer serving of the hidden café she mused on what surprise the pink haired kunoichi had prepared for her.

When quarter past six an orange jumpsuit appeared before her, she swallowed her coffee in the wrong windpipe and coughed while blushing as Naruto came to greet her.

"Yo! Y'allright there, Hinata?" He asked with concerned cerulean eyes. Cough. She coughed again and strained herself to answer.

"Y-yes, N-Naruto-kun." She murmured and coughed yet again. So _this_ was Sakura's surprise.

"So, Sakura said you had something to tell me." He cheered and went to sit down in front of her with a cup of steaming coffee and in that moment, Hinata knew she had been set up. The trap was perfect for an inconspicuous date. She cursed and blessed her pink haired acquaintance for this chance and this scheme.

"Uh. Y-yes. I-I wanted..." She swallowed. "I wanted to w-welcome you back to Konoha."

"Oh." He said and blinked. "Thanks! It's nice to be back." Naruto said and grinned, yet it seemed he was still a bit confused.

"W-why don't you t-tell me what y-you have been up t-to these past years?" She said and gathered her courage as she spoke. She would make the most out of this opportunity. She braced herself and let out a light breath. The man in front of her was then enveloped in his descriptions of his adventures with the pervert Sannin and Hinata fell for him all over again. They talked most of the evening and Hinata succeeded in saying a few sentences without stuttering. Somehow, he gave her courage. He gave her strength.

And she loved him.

* * *

><p><em>The Prodigy Hyuuga Neji<em>

"So Sunagakure's next, huh." Neji commented as he sipped from his citrus tea. It was sweet and sour.

"Yeah. With old dear Team Seven, minus one." She said with a grim tone, yet she smiled gently.

Shikamaru sat opposite her, with a game of chess in front of him and contemplated his next move against the pink haired kunoichi. It was almost like the older days, when they had met up regularly to drink tea and play whatever board game Shikamaru suggested. Neji hadn't seen much of the kunoichi during the last five months and he knew she had been training. Whenever he had managed to catch glimpses of the girl, she was almost always covered in bandages and exhaustedly dragging herself forward.

Shikamaru had told him that she had been accepted into ANBU a few months ago, and the Hyuuga prodigy had somehow already known it. She hadn't needed to tell him. In the way she moved, how her eyes glistened harder than ever, he knew she couldn't have been assigned to only regular missions. She was too much of an asset not to be used to full extent. Neji pondered on how the ANBU life had affected her. She had most probably built up an even stronger resistance against human emotions. Not the least because of Izanami's influence as well.

They were in the Nara compound and it was late afternoon, the last rays of the sun shedding its radiance on the garden and the veranda which they leisurely sat on. Sakura had just gotten back from Ichiraku's with Naruto and when she had met up with them, there was a mischievous grin on her face. Neji had heard that Hinata was supposed to meet up with Sakura at the coffee shop, yet she was with them, sipping her tea as she looked at the game of chess with scrutinising eyes.

"Weren't you supposed to meet up with Hinata, well, about now?" Neji asked, raising an eye brow. At that, Sakura laughed.

"No, it's not me she's going to see." She said mysteriously, then it seemed she couldn't hold it in. "It's Naruto."

"Oh. A little date-scheme, I see." Neji smirked. Shikamaru snorted, mumbled 'troublesome', and moved a chess piece. Sakura nodded to herself.

"Yeah, thought it was about time to step up the game." She smiled and moved her own piece, the black chess piece knocking away Shikamaru's white piece. He grumbled.

Shikamaru looked up at Neji with a contemplative gaze, disregarding the game for a few moments.

"Ah. Neji, I forgot to ask. How did the seduction mission go last week?" He asked. Sakura turned her head to look at the prodigy with slightly wide eyes. Neji looked down on his hands, suppressing the urge to give the pineapple headed sloth a hateful opalescent glare.

"It was successful." He mumbled.

"It was your first, right?" Shikamaru pressed and it took all of Neji's strength not to hit the Nara out of this world.

"Yes." Neji bit off, then he stole a look at Sakura. It seemed she was no longer interested in the subject and had moved on to observe the chess game. He felt something sink in his chest.

"What about you, Sakura?" Neji found himself asking.  
>"What?" She looked up from the game and her expression was unreadable.<p>

"Have you... been to a Seduction mission?" He tried and didn't waver as he held her gaze.

"Yeah." She answered easily and both of the men at her side were shocked. The Nara froze when he was about to move a piece, but regained his composure seconds after and settled the piece down. Neji almost broke his tea cup.

"When?" Shikamaru asked, regarding her carefully.  
>"Three months ago, I guess." She shrugged her shoulders, dismissing it so easily, when it shouldn't be.<br>"How... was it?" Neji asked, not really knowing if he wanted the answer or not.  
>"Nothing special, I got the information and it was quick." Sakura said simply.<p>

"Oh." Neji let out. The two Clansmen stared at her and she sighed deeply, as if she was about to scold children.

"Guys. This is normal. We are shinobi, tools of our villages. Having sex is part of our jobs, it is required of us. If you make a big deal out of it, you won't feel too great."

"That's just..." Shikamaru trailed off, seemingly realising it was true, however horrid it was.

"Fucked up? Yeah. But what did you expect? The shinobi life is not as glorified as it seemed when we were Genin, you should know that." She said, with those hard, glinting green eyes.

"Yes, but still...", Shikamaru muttered, "Who was your Seduction teacher?"

"Genma, and later Anko." She said and sighed.

"So Genma took your virginity." Neji stated. There was something cold in his chest that wouldn't melt, no matter what.

"Yeah."

"You're too casual about this, Sakura." Shikamaru observed. "Don't you feel anything?"

"What do you mean?" She asked with a befuddled expression.

"Like... Didn't you want to at least love the person of whom you gave your virginity to?" He said, almost blushing. Neji agreed silently with him.

"Shika. That's a luxury a shinobi doesn't deserve." Sakura said sharply. "We are humans that kill humans without a second thought. Who are we to demand such things like love?"

"You're too harsh on yourself, Sakura." Neji strained. "Shinobi are not depraved of the choice of love."

"Whatever. At the moment, the mere thought of love is quite distant to me. I think I have lost the essence of it. I know I appreciate you two, as well as my family and Naruto and a few others. But I am not certain I can grasp the concept of love." The pink haired kunoichi confessed and her eyes travelled away into the garden, observing the birds flying about and the greenery which sprouted with life.

"Sakura. Love is not something you can grasp. It simply is there." Neji said, trying to make her see it.

"You don't understand. Izanami... she has deliberately shaved off on my feelings. If one thing she hates in this world, it is love." Sakura breathed. "Love has no meaning for me."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

Hi guys!

Long time no hear. At this moment, I don't have much time for this note, but I'll say two things: I LOVE YOU GUYS and that I'll do the poll on love in the next chapter, put everything together and stuff.

Please tell me if you see any errors, since this chapter was rushed and shit.

Love ya

xx fascalia


	12. Monsters

**Transition**

Sakura is perceived from the perspectives of others as she changes during the years into something else entirely. The people near her follows her transition closely and when she starts abandoning everything she held dear - she gets closer and closer to her goal.

Chapter 12

Monsters

Through the Eyes of a Fox Boy, a Man with a Name and the Boy Who Was Once Loved

* * *

><p><em>The Man with a Name Sai<em>

In the early morning, he was right on time to meet his new team for the mission to Sunagakure. He didn't know the feeling in his chest as he thought about the mission. It was a bit like fluttering birds. He saw that the pink haired kunoichi was already there, waiting for the rest of the members at the gates facing out of Konoha. She smiled as he came up to her and he nodded. She wore a white top, for once, and a coat together with black hakamas. Her bag was slung over her shoulder casually.

"Good morning, Ugly." He said and went to stand beside her.

"Morning, fuckface." She greeted him absentmindedly as she looked at the rising sun at the horizon.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Someone yelled and Sai turned around to see a blond young man bounce towards them with an overly large backpack on his shoulders, but when the blond saw Sai's face he stopped and stood still. The young man called Uzumaki Naruto blanched as he took in Sai's features. There was recognition in the cerulean blue eyes of the blond boy and Sai didn't know what to make of it, since he had never met the blond young man before.

"What the actual _fuck_-" He yelled and stared at him, but Sai broke him off.

"Why is Dickless screaming like that?" Sai asked Sakura with a frown on his pale complexion. The boy called Naruto stuttered, then his eyes burned and Sakura chuckled.

"_What did you just call me_-"

"He's just surprised, Sai, that you look so much like our former teammate. Now, shush Naruto. That's just Sai's socially stunted way of bonding, giving people nicknames." Sakura said and patted her hand on Sai's back.

"What is 'bonding', Ugly?" Sai asked, perplexed. Naruto stopped seething and looked at him again, as if finally realising he was someone else.

"See?" Sakura chuckled and shrugged. "He's totally clueless."

"Huh. He just called you ugly, though." Naruto said sternly, then he couldn't contain himself and laughed out loud, holding his stomach. The pinkette frowned.

"Yeah, he did just so, _Dickless_." Sakura snorted.

"Hey." Naruto grumpily said, offended. "Not you too!"

"What? It's quite catchy." She implied and flicked a lock of her hair away from her eyes.

"Then I'm gonna call you flat-chested bit-"

Sakura smacked Naruto at the back of his head before he could finish his sentence, making him almost topple over. He glared at her as he rubbed his head and she glared back just as furiously. Sai contemplated for a second, then voiced his thoughts.

"I have changed my mind regarding the issue of you nickname, Sakura-san, since you're more ferocious than I first thought. I believe 'Pink Haired Banshee' would fit better." Sai concluded, nodding to himself as he walked besides them. Naruto laughed at that and Sakura grinned, seemingly having forgotten about Naruto's try at a nickname for her.

"You're not the first one to call me that." She chirruped. "It's too long a nickname though."

"True. What about simply 'Banshee'?" Sai suggested.

"Works for me." She grinned, but then she turned to Naruto. "This only applies to Sai. You are not allowed to call me anything but my name."

"Dattebayo, Sakura-chan." He said, still holding his hand over his head with a pout on his face. A protruding lump started to grow comically on his head.

"Good. Now where is our slothtastic sensei?" Sakura said and looked around her, then went to heal the blond man's head. "He's never late for missions."

"Yo. Missed me?" A man with silver hair and a black bandana covering half his face appeared behind them, holding an orange book in his hands.

"As if! You're late, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto yelled and Sakura retracted her hand from his head, the lump completely gone and healed.

"Got lost on the path of life." The man called Kakashi crinkled his one visible eye in a not so apologetic smile.

"Sure you did. Now, let's get going or we'll be late. All of us." The pink haired kunoichi said tiredly and strapped her backpack tightly on her shoulders.

They travelled fast and Sai got to know Naruto better. The forestation became less and less, the air grew humid and hot and Naruto started taunting him for his upcoming sunburn that would make half his stomach burnt by the sun and the rest pale as the moon. At that, Sai only needed to say 'Dickless' to send the Uzumaki into a quite amusing rage. On the fourth day they reached the mountains and as they descended them, they had a perfect view of the desert filtering in front of them. It was like a frozen rampaging ocean of sand. The dunes were high and they needed to strip some of their clothes off to not fall from the sun's stark presence. The Banshee produced a straw hat and pulled her pink hair inside it. A day later, they saw the gates to Sunagakure. They had arrived. Shouting were heard behind the gates and Sai picked up on one of the gate keeper's voice.

"It's the Kyuubi container from Konoha! The one who was in Team Seven with the Uchiha survivor and the Copy Nin!" The Sand nin shouted. "They have arrived! Open the gates."

They shuffled inside the hidden village and a few civilians looked their way, observing their strange clothes. Sai looked at Sakura, who idly walked besides him.

"Why didn't they mention you? You're a part of the past Team Seven. They should know about you." Sai asked. The pink haired kunoichi turned and the straw hat she wore shaded her face, yet her eyes were as green as ever.

"Oh. Well, I am the team member who people tend to forget. But it's alright, I'd like to keep it that way." She said and smiled.

"Why?" Sai pressed, still not comprehending.

"I work better in their shadows. That way, I can remain hidden. That way, I can contribute more easily, without unnecessary recognition."

"I get your point, but still- Don't you want to be recognised? To be seen?" He asked, regarding her statement strange, since he had read in so many books that humans craved recognition. Craved attention and a presence in people's minds.

"Maybe. But my goals keeps me from doing so. It would be nice, of course, to be a visible part of Team Seven. But it's not necessary."

* * *

><p><em>The Boy Who Was Once Loved Kazekage Gaara<em>

A young woman stood at the entrance, seemingly waiting for someone. Gaara's interest perked as the young woman's straw hat suddenly got caught in the wind and flew away, leaving the girl's head bare and left her flowing pink hair to swirl in the winds of the desert. A few civilians stopped walking on the streets to stare at her as she grumpily looked at the straw what flying away into the desert.

"Such disgusting flamboyant hair colour." The red haired young man commented dryly and watched her when she raised an eye brow. His siblings stopped walking besides him at the same time he did.

"Hey. No one insults the hair." The kunoichi clipped and glared at him.

"Who are you?" He asked coldly. He remembered the outrageous hair colour from the Chunin exams in Konohagakure, years ago. He had seen it and disregarded it, since his primary interest had been in the Uchiha boy and the other jinchuuriki Naruto. But she had probably been on the same team as them, he figured. He couldn't remember her name. Yet he showed unconcealed little interest in the girl. She reeked of blood and sin. The monster within him growled hungrily.

"Naturally being curious about a person is a dangerous state to be caught in." She smirked and the red headed man looked impassively at her. She dared to be rude to him? To the Kazekage? To a monster?

"Answer." He said sharply, as towers of sand slithered around him in a hostile attempt to show the girl he was not too prone for playing around. She looked dazedly at his moving sand and then she bowed gallantly, her hair dripping down her shoulders, though Gaara could discern the lilt of sarcasm in her exaggerated move.

"I am Haruno Sakura, part of Team Seven, proud kunoichi of Konohagakure. Pleasure to meet you, revered Kazekage of Sunagakure." She pronounced politely.

"The audacity of that girl-" Kankuro breathed angrily at Gaara's side, but Temari hindered Kankuro from interrupting.

"What is your purpose here, Haruno Sakura?" Gaara asked, ignoring Kankuro's comment.

"I am part of Team Seven, together with Naruto and Kakashi and the additional member Sai. We're here to investigate on the rumours of Akatsuki's real goal, concerning the jinchuurikis on order of Godaime-sama." The pink haired kunoichi drawled, as if she was not really interested anymore in the subject.

"You smell of blood." Gaara stated as he looked at her with cold eyes and she turned her head to graze him with her sapphire eyes. A smile played on her soft, cerise lips and her green eyes paled visibly.

"You do, too." She purred and Gaara felt the monster within him growl with anticipation. Without being able to control it, Gaara unconsciously let out a bit of killing intent. Kankuro and Temari froze at his side, hesitantly exchanging a look. The pink haired kunoichi from Konoha let her smile grow wider, and then suddenly a wave of blood lust hit him hard.

It was dripping, seething, boiling and he had not anticipated such enormous blood thirst come from a little pink haired girl. She only stood a few meters away from him, but the pressure was so overwhelming it felt like she stood behind him with a kunai pressed at his throat. Gaara noted how Temari shivered slightly and Kankuro swallowed harshly. Two monsters battled with blood thirst right in front of them, so mayhaps it was not so strange. Civilians on the street stilled and a baby started to cry in the distance.

The pressure from within him, the monster, pushed even more and Gaara couldn't help but produce even more killing intent. At this, some weaker pedestrians fell to the ground on their knees. Haruno Sakura winced as his intent struck her, then she bit her lip and her eyes burned. Another wave of blood thirst came off of her, hitting him hard and making him nauseous, it made Temari shudder and Kankuro's breath hitch. A thud was heard from beside him and when he looked, a bird lay dead on the sandy soils in the street. A few more thuds told him that several more birds had fallen due to her killing intent. Inside him, Shukaku growled for more. For her blood.

"Sakura! Stop it, for god's sake!" A shrill voice shouted and in a neon orange flash, Naruto appeared and stood in front of the pink haired kunoichi. The pressure lifted instantly and Gaara felt free, pressing down his own blood lust as he regained some sense. He no longer smelled the blood and he didn't feel as if someone pressed the air out of his lungs. The monster within him sighed, defeated and disappointed. Temari breathed deeply and regained her composure.

"Fuck, I just had an aneurysm." Kankuro cursed, pressing his hand on his forehead, as if trying to push down a headache. "I thought they were going to claw at each other's throats."

"If Naruto hadn't interrupted, they probably would have." Temari said sourly, looking at the pink haired kunoichi who discussed something leisurely with the angry Kyuubi container.

"I remember that girl from the Chuunin exams in Konoha. But from what I recall, she was a fangirling weakling. Seems like she's trained hard. And lost her mind, what with going up against Gaara of all people" Temari commented to Kankuro as she watched the pink haired girl. Gaara followed her gaze and he strengthened his hearing with chakra, just enough so he could hear the pink haired girl's and Naruto's conversation.

"Well, who doesn't appreciate the occasional twist?" The Haruno girl said and grinned at the fox boy. Naruto grit his teeth and frowned at the pinkette.

"The occasional deprivation of a moral sense for what's right and wrong and the occasional uncalled for fight between a political ANBU guest inside the borders of Suna and the Kazekage? Yeah, who wouldn't appreciate _that_." Naruto growled. The girl looked slightly taken aback as he said this, and then she looked down on the sandy ground.

"He triggered something within me. I haven't met anyone mortal with that amount of blood lust. I-... I felt it within myself and not just because of Izanami. I reacted to him, somehow. I'm sorry, Naruto." She said and wouldn't meet his eyes.

"It's not me you're going to apologise to. Go say sorry to Gaara." Naruto sighed and patted her on her shoulder, then he moved to push her to the Kazekage and his siblings.

"Shoo, shoo."

"Hey, don't push!" Sakura breathed as she waved him off. They then stood in front of Gaara and his two siblings. His eyes slid across her strong posture and she met his gaze, unwavering.

"I apologise for accidentally killing a few of your birds, Kazekage-sama." Sakura said and her eyes glittered. Naruto huffed and then pushed her head down so she bowed and she snarled, yet didn't shake him off.

"It is none the matter. My monster reacted to you as well. I apologise for letting out its hunger for your blood." Gaara said calmly and Temari drew an audible breath. Gaara knew it was beneath him to apologise to a simple kunoichi, but he felt the need to be polite with this young woman. Her presence was too predatory-like and changeable that he did not want to take any risks.

"Welcome to Sunagakure, you two. We were told to meet you all at the gates, though." Kankuro said and grinned, trying to get rid of the rigid atmosphere. "Now, where's the other two?"

"Searching for an inn to stay at." Naruto said and smiled. "I did too, but then I felt this chakra intense killing intent contest going on and I figured it had to do with Gaara so I came to save the day."

"Perceptive, aren't you." Temari said and gave him a crooked grin.

* * *

><p><em>The Fox Boy Uzumaki Naruto<em>

When they arrived at the inn they had found for a reasonable price, Naruto cornered Sakura in her room. She looked up from the bed where she was unpacking her bag. It was as if she had expected him to come. He settled besides her on the bed, crossing his legs. His eyes were honest as they watched her methodically pluck clothes from her bag and fold them on the bed sheet.

"Sakura. That wasn't like you at all, that thing with Gaara. I know you have changed and all, but I also know that you're not that wicked. What's going on?" He asked her and he saw her close her eyes. She breathed deeply for a few moments and then she opened her eyes to look at him. They were pale green.

"I know. It's just that lately... I feel so fragmented. It's like different parts of me are battling for the completion of my personality. It's not like it was before, when I was whole. When I just had Inner to argue with. Now, I feel dishevelled. There are parts of me that wants to go to war with the world, to bathe in blood and stand on heaps of skulls. Then there are parts of me that wants nothing but peace and innocence and rainbows and stardust. I'm not sure I can cope with myself much more. The parts of me all want to take over, to be the primary source of my personality. Yet all I want is to complete my goals, and all the parts of me wants the same. If I somehow can blend these parts into one, into _me_, then maybe I would be at peace with myself. But it's hard. It's just so hard. And it's even more disturbing that I don't want to let any part of me go, since they are what makes me - me."

"Wow... Uh. That's- Is it because of Izanami?" Naruto asked, concern in his voice.

"Probably." She sighed, then she looked away into the distance, her eyes empty. It scared Naruto.

"Will I simply peel away?" She whispered, as if to none in particular. The Kyuubi container then hugged her tightly.

"You won't. I won't let you. Whatever you decide to be, you will still be Haruno Sakura. You will smack me across the sky when I do something inappropriate. You will tell me to calm down. And nowadays, it seems you are eager to prove yourself. You should know, Sakura-chan, that I will always approve of you." Naruto said and he knew that in that moment, he matured just a little bit. It seemed like just being in close proximity to this changed Sakura, he changed as well. Maybe he had become a bit more thoughtful. To rather actually consider the words that left his mouth instead of just saying whatever came to his mind.

"Thank you, Naruto." She whispered as she gave back a hug.

"You know, I cling to my goals as if they are what makes me human still. If I lose sight of my goals, I don't know what I would become. They are my life force, a part of me that will never die. They are my reminders of a purpose with this life. They are what drives me to smile and still claim lives and stand over mountains of corpses." She whispered at his ear and Naruto felt himself almost shiver.

"I'll guide you, if you want." Naruto said and she hugged him tighter as her answer.

"Sakura-chan. You should know... that I no longer think your back is small."

"I know, Naruto. I know." She said and he felt her tense shoulders relax in his embrace.

Forty minutes later when they had unpacked and refreshed, they went down to meet up with Kakashi and that dick Sai, to discuss the briefing Kakashi had attended together with the Kazekage about the Akatsuki. Their lunch was served in the inn's bar part and the atmosphere was steamy from the cookings of the nearby kitchen. They were all tired from the constant running the past few days and was happily scrounging the food on their plates.

"So we're going to meet up with the Kazekage later. All I heard on the briefing was that Akatsuki has been hunting jinchuurikis. They have succeeded in capturing and killing two thus far." Kakashi said and picked his chop sticks in his food.

"That's horrible." Naruto said with food in his mouth.

"We'll talk more about it later. We'll come up with a plan on how to handle things and then we're going to report back to Godaime-sama." Kakashi concluded and in a blur, so fast none could see, he had eaten a few pieces of meat by quickly drawing his mask up and down. Naruto was a bit fascinated at this feat.

"There's no meat on your plate Sakura. Are you not feeling well?" Sai questioned the girl as he squinted his eyes at her plate. Naruto saw what Sai pointed at and he looked curiously at his pink haired team mate.

"No, I'm perfectly fine. I just don't eat meat anymore." She said. "I kill enough as it is."

"Oh. But what about the protein?" Kakashi asked.

"The protein meat provides is easily found in plants. It's basic knowledge, though not many care to look into it." She explained.

"Really? But meat is delicious! I would never be able to stop eating it." Naruto commented, staring at her confusedly.

"I believe that only for my own delight, it is not right to take away an animals life. There's much more to food than just meat."

"It's kind of hypocritical of you though, don't you think? You're willing to kill people but not animals." Kakashi remarked.

"I am a shinobi and it is required of me. Whereas, I have never shed innocent blood of a human. Animals has never done me anything wrong or has ever been part of any mission. Hence I prefer to not eat them."

"I see." The Copy Nin said and nodded to himself, continuing to eat.

"Hey, you killed some birds before-" Naruto was cut off short when Sakura gave him a hard glance. He knew it had been accidental due to her killing intent, so he shut his mouth. For a few seconds, Naruto looked at his own plate that contained beef. He frowned and poked around a bit, then he shrugged and started eating, since the dead animal on his plate already had died. Sakura continued to eat her plant based food and quietly drank some green tea.

* * *

><p><em>The Fan Wielding Woman Temari<em>

Apparently, that Naruto brat had decided that him, Kankuro, Gaara, Kakashi and Sai were to have a night out on town without the kunoichis' on their teams. Temari was left to be stuck with the pinkette and were to meet her up at the Scorpion's Inn within five minutes. She prolonged her steps a bit, not really wanting to meet the pinkette.

Temari couldn't understand the foolishness of the girl from Konoha. She remembered the pinkette to be a fangirling twat at the Chuunin exams two years ago, but what met her eyes today was a woman who had seen blood and enjoyed the colour. To act up against Gaara of all people? To the fucking Kazekage? Temari didn't know if the girl was somewhat brave or completely mental.

Gaara had went into a meeting with the four ninjas from Konoha about the recent activities of Akatsuki in the late afternoon. Temari had seen the tension before they went into his office, but the cheery laughter from that Naruto seemed to lighten the mode. Temari noted that the blond boy had matured into a somewhat handsome man, if it weren't for the marks on his cheeks and his gleeful obnoxious behaviour. She had stood outside the office and filed a few papers for her brother. She and Kankuro had become Gaara's aides in the Kazekage work, since they were both highly effective and as well as for the fact that they were two of the few people Gaara would trust standing at his side. Temari knew it hadn't been easy for him, that boy with a monster sealed inside him. But since the people of Suna respected strength more than anything, it was at the end obvious that Gaara would be elected Kazekage. Recently, there had been some disputes with other villages, the complaints directed at him for his position at such young age, complaints about them stealing their trade, amongst other things. Temari sighed as she made her way to the bar inside the inn. She saw a bundle of outrageous pink hair at a table and she wrinkled her nose. Elegantly, she walked up to the girl who had a conversation with the waitress.

"Good evening." Temari said dryly and the girl looked up from her companion.

"Oh, your friend finally came! I'll leave you guys to it. Have a great night!" The cheery blond waitress said happily and bounced away. Sakura waved and smiled.

"Good at making new friends, now are you?" Temari clipped as she sat down.

"If they don't comment on my hair, then yes." Sakura smirked and sipped from her beer. Temari wrinkled her nose, then she searched for the waitress that had been called to another table full of men. She took their order and then noted Temari's intense staring. She bounced up to them and smiled with brown eyes glittering. The girl knew how to do service, at least.

"Hello again! Have you decided? What's your order?" She asked gently.

"I'll have the same as she's got." Temari said and smiled thinly.

"Great choice! It's got a faint hint of citrus that I just love, and the hops blend so well. Oh, I'm talking too much. Coming right up!" The waitress cheered and then bounced away, yet again.

"Such innocence." Temari mumbled, more to herself than anyone else. The pinkette in front of her only regarded her. Temari felt that annoying feeling of being looked down upon and so she smiled lovingly at the girl.

"Oh, I just remembered. Didn't you go all fan girl on your former team mate, that Uchiha Sasuke? I remember him to be quite a stud. Sad to hear that he betrayed you." Temari said, testing her limits on the girl. She watched her warily, yet interested in what her reaction would be.

"I'm sorry, just two tears ago I would have given a fuck. Now I'm all dry on tears." Sakura said and drank from her beer, seemingly undisturbed. Her facade was complete and she left nothing to show. Temari felt that the girl's answer made her a bit more worthy to speak to.

"I see." Temari chuckled. The girl was more interesting than she had first thought. The waitress came up to them and didn't disturb their conversation as she only put the beverage on the table in front of the blond kunoichi.

"So how are things? Seems like the political climate is rather stiff at the moment." Sakura commented, eyeing the Suna kunoichi as she drank her beer. It tasted a bit like citrus.

"So you noticed?" Temari said and raised an eyebrow. The girl was perceptive as well, she thought as she continued. "Yes, indeed. A few little villages are trying to show off and accuse us of some petty matters."

"That must be annoying." The pink haired young woman commented and sipped from her beer.

"Yeah. Puts a bit of strain on all of us."

"Seems like they're eager to raise the bar. Do you think their intention is to declare war on Suna?" She asked and traced her beer's round edge in a circular movement with her finger tip.

"I duly hope not. Crushing flies do take a bit of an effort, if they're many." Temari sighed.

Sakura laughed. It was tingling yet dark and raspy. It was a rather sexy laugh, making a few men turn their heads in their direction at the bar.

"I heard they've gathered some allies, yes. Not any major villages as of yet, but it could turn into a bloody mess if you don't act soon." Sakura said then and her eyes were hard. No laughter was left visible on her face.

"Hm, hm. True. What would be your point of action?" Temari asked, suddenly interested in the pinkette's opinion on the matter.

"Well, I would first try to negotiate with them. Make a large meeting with all of them, create a lot of attention. Not keeping it behind closed doors. People would recognise their accusations as ridiculous and not agree with their standing. If not, I would simply display Suna's strength. Maybe in the coming Jounin exams in Suna which will occur in a few days, and crush each and every opponent. Make a show with Gaara's strength as well, perhaps." Sakura said, her posture thoughtful, then she continued.

"I would then make allies with other major villages. Konoha would be the primary choice. Having two major villages cooperating would make them shake in their boots. I would also see to have spies in their village to acquire information regarding their thoughts on the matter. But if it all comes down to it, I would fight." She ended her sentence grimly.

"That is an interesting point of action." Temari commented. She would take Sakura's plan up on the next meeting with Gaara as a recommendation. Maybe it was worth discussing.

"I heard you're still Chuunin, by the way. How come?" Temari asked as she remembered the lower rank the pinkette shouldered. At that, Sakura chuckled.

"It was necessary before. For a facade, of sorts. Though I no longer believe it to be necessary." She explained and sipped from her beer.

"Then why don't you take the next Jounin exam here in Suna? It will give you a higher ranking. Our Jounin exams deem to be a bit more... Difficult than those in Konoha, I have heard. It would also strengthen your bond to Suna." Temari suggested.

"Sounds like an idea, actually." Sakura said as her eyes lit with perked interest. Temari regarded the girl for a moment.

"I must say, you have proven to be a better company than I had expected. What changed since the Chuunin exams?" The blond kunoichi asked, sincerely curious as to her change. Sakura only looked at the blond then, her eyes suddenly unreadable.

"A lot happened. Sasuke-kun betrayed us. Naruto left to train with Jiraya. I became the Hokage's apprentice. I acquired a cursed sword. And amongst other things, I set up a few goals. And in order to accomplish them, I need to become stronger."

"So you're still in that quest for strength?" Temari asked.

"I think I will never finish that journey. It's a long way to walk."

"Just don't let it go to your head. I have seen first hand what that thirst for power may lead to." The Sunagakure kunoichi said and looked down on her hands.

"I know. That's why I have a few friends to guide me on the right path." Sakura smiled.

"Then all is good. You know, it's getting late. The boys must be back by now. Shall we?" Temari asked.

"Yeah." The pinkette said and rose from her chair, Temari following her example. As they made their way to the bar to pay their tab, Temari noted in the corner of her eye how the drinking men fell silent as they neared them.

"That's a fine piece of ass." The man with a scar on the bridge of his nose rumbled and smacked Sakura's behind loudly as she passed him. Temari felt it sting herself. He grinned slyly, as if he was satisfied with his effort, and a roaring laughter accompanied his own from his fellow drinking partners. Temari felt anger coiling in the pit of her stomach and was about to give the man a good beating, but was hindered by a scarred hand preventing her from going any further. Sakura only smiled lovingly and was about to walk away when the very same scarred man grabbed the passing blond waitress and pulled her to sit on his lap. He moved her hips against him and she yelped in disgust.

"Want some tip, sweetheart? I'll treat you some if you give me a lil' extra service." He said and grabbed her butt without inhibitions. The waitress tried to get off but the man only pulled her down as he laughed at her struggle. His hands were suddenly all over her body and she tried to push him away, but he was stronger than her and only laughed her attempts off. When the waitress got her top torn open and her bra was left visible and she blushed ashamedly, Temari swore she could hear something snap as Sakura was fast to turn around, elegantly walk up to the man and look at him with cold eyes.

"Let her go."

The waitress squealed as she felt the killing intent overwhelm the bar's atmosphere. It was like murky water trickling into the mind, as sharp pain blinded the eye. Temari shuddered. Yet the man held the waitress even closer and stared with a crooked smile at the pinkette.

"You want something, honey? A threesome, perhaps?" He asked with a syrup coated voice and his fellow companions roared. Apparently, he was an experienced shinobi, since he could take the killing intent pressing down in the room. Or he was completely oblivious and had no instinct of the feeling of a predator, Temari thought. Or maybe he underestimated her because she was a woman. The blond kunoichi felt her eye twitch.

"You have crossed the line. Way over the line." Sakura said and Temari shuddered at the coldness in her voice. In one movement, as if she were to shake his hand, she thwacked the man at the side of his neck with her hand tilted. He yelped and then his head was paralysed in a very crooked angle, his ear touching his shoulder. He wriggled in his seat but was too confused as to what had happened and the waitress found her chance to leap off his lap and away to the bar. His comrades stilled for a second, then they were off their seats and went for the pinkette with raised fists. It was like a dance, almost comical. The girl swiftly evaded the men's attacks and Temari almost swore she saw the pinkette yawn. In seconds, the men lay on the floor, grunting in pain. Temari didn't even know if they were civilians or shinobi. Sakura stood in front of the paralysed man with a crooked neck and regarded him with disgust.

"Touch a girl again against her will and next time I see you, it won't be just a crooked neck." Her frozen voice was like ice shattering the silence in the bar. The threat hung clearly in the air and the man gaped at her, then scrambled up from his seat and hurried out the door.

"Dealing with sexist pigs in a peaceful way is not exactly my forte." Sakura said and cracked her knuckles. Temari laughed whole heartedly as they left the bar after paying the tab. The waitress didn't thank them, she was quiet and confused, yet her eyes glittered. Temari would never have thought that pink would be a fearsome colour.

When they got back to the inn after having strolled around the block for a bit, Temari showing Sakura few of her favourite spots, they met a man inside Sakura's bedroom. Sakura had invited Temari over for some late night shogi playing, but it seemed like this would not happen tonight, Temari thought, as Sakura greeted her former teacher.

"Curse your hair colour!" Kakashi, a man with silver hair and a mask covering half his face, growled as he paced inside the bed room. Temari and Sakura flinched as they felt waves of anger evaporate from the famous Copy Nin.

"Pardon me?" Sakura asked, still visibly baffled at the otherwise so relaxed man.

"Mindlessly attacking a civilian of Suna? Haruno Sakura, what the hell were you thinking?" Kakashi growled at the pinkette. They stilled. Temari then gripped her shirt and raised an eyebrow. News travel fast within Suna's borders, it always has. But this must be a record, she thought.

"I can vouch for her. I witnessed the situation. The man was acting up and behaved ridiculously, he deserved it." Temari said.

"Still no reason to paralyse his neck! And his name is Ito Raigo." Kakashi snarled and pointed his Icha Icha book accusatorially at Sakura.

"It will wear off in a week. Maybe his view on the world might be straightened up as well." The Haruno girl said, a sarcastic lilt to her tone.

"Sakura. You are an ANBU, part of Team Seven, the outer face of Konoha. This is unacceptable behaviour." Kakashi replied coldly.

"I am sorry for the inconvenience. The man, Raigo you said?, was sexually harassing the waitress and I could not stop myself." Sakura said, yet her stance was not so apologetic as she stood straight.

"Please, Hatake-san. If Sakura hadn't done it, I would have." Temari interjected.

"But that did not happen, now did it?" Kakashi said grimly. "Raigo's family is of high standing within Sunagakure. They have powerful ties to the Ginkaku Clan. They want Sakura punished or banned from Suna. Either way, this will have consequences."

"I see. Then... I will accept the punishment." Sakura said and bit her lip.

"No! Sakura, you don't need to-"

"Temari-san. This matter belongs to Konohagakure." Kakashi broke her off. "Please refer from meddling in our business."

The crackle of sand told Temari who would arrive within seconds. At the same time, Naruto walked inside the room together with Sai.

"Tell me what happened." Gaara said as he appeared from flying piles of sand.

"Yeah! What's going on, 'ttebayo?" Naruto asked as he waved his hands, all wide blue eyes. Sakura turned her head and regarded the red headed man who towered over her. Her green met his icy blue.

"Me and Temari went to the bar. A man called Raigo, who was accompanied with seven other men, was drinking alcoholic beverages besides us. Raigo then pulled down a waitress-"

"And he also smacked your butt after calling it a 'fine piece of ass', Sakura. And you did nothing. You were about to walk away and let it slide but then that man sexually harassed the waitress, getting frisky without her consent and he also ripped her top open. You came back and let your killing intent out. He still showed no remorse for what he had done and then you paralysed his neck. The other men came at you and you handled them while avoiding hitting their vital points. Something I myself consider they didn't deserve." Temari clipped and elaborated on the story. Silence pressed in Sakura's rented bedroom.

Naruto's jaw dropped.

"He touched you, Sakura?" He said and Temari could hear anger rasping inside his throat. "I'm going to rip that piece of shit into shreds-"

"Now, now. Don't be hasty. We don't want another complaint from the Ginkaku Clan." Kakashi waved his hands and then looked at the pinkette with one squinting eye. "Sakura. Why didn't you tell us? This changes things considerably."

"It was irrelevant. So when he harassed the waitress, was that not good enough for you?" Sakura seethed. "Do you feel so much obliged to protecting me and only me since I am your female teammate? Does one girl working at a bar _not matter_?"

"Sakura-"

"It's not-"

"The man Raigo will be punished." Gaara broke off the heated discussion with one single sentence. Everyone in the room looked at him.

"His behaviour was not acceptable. Harassment against male nor female will not be tolerated in Suna. The waitress will be compensated accordingly." Gaara concluded.

"That is a wise decision, however, I believe I have already punished him enough." Sakura said, yet she smiled gently at Gaara.

"You are to reverse his neck into a healthy state. Then he will visit the Prison of Suna for a week. I believe his stay there will teach him a thing or two."

"Isn't that a bit too much? I hear there are considerably dangerous missing nin residing in there." Sai asked, oblivious to the glances he got.

"Maybe. But this will also set a statuary example. Sexual harassment will be punishable from now on in Suna, since it hasn't been before. Now, I have matters to take care of. Good night." Gaara stated and turned around. Temari got up quick from the chair and followed Gaara out the door. When they were descending the steps she neared him. She noted how he needed to gather strength to make his sand stand back and not attack her.

"We will need to gather the Elders for this new law proposition." She mumbled and Gaara nodded. Temari saw that he was clenching his fist as they went out on the moon lit street.

* * *

><p><em>The Fox Boy Uzumaki Naruto<em>

In the early morning the next day Naruto jumped around excitedly in the corridor, eager for the first morning practice with the new Team Seven members, having completely forgotten the mess of yesterday. He bounced inside the pinkette's hostel room and made his way over to Sakura's bed and shook her shoulder lightly.

"Time to wake up, sunshine! Come on, come on. It's almost sun rise." He cheered and earned a sudden hard smack on his head, making him wobble down on the wooden floor from the force of it. He felt a large bump protrude on the top of his blond spiky head. Surprised, he suspiciously watched the blanket covered form of Sakura. A sound was produced from the huddled form and the clenched fist that had hit him retracted back into the covered depths of blankets.

"Hn."

Naruto almost laughed out straight as he got up from the floor and swiftly yanked away her covers, leaving her visible with murderous green eyes and ruffled pink hair. She wore a grey top and shorts and with a groan she turned her head away from the stark sun light shedding inside the room.

"It's amazing how Sasuke-like you are in the morning, Sakura-chan." He chirped and she grumbled, as she angrily reached for the covers in his hands. He jumped gallantly away, her fingers touching nothing but air. An even more murderous sound was heard from the depths of her throat and Naruto almost felt cold sweat break at the nape of his neck as she rose from the comfortable bed to sit and she stared at him. Pale, green eyes. Maybe he had gotten himself in too deep waters.

"Good morning, idiot." She said instead of declaring her never ending hatred for him, or kill him on the spot, which he had expected her to do, as she rose slowly from her sleeping mattress. She shuffled away from the bed as she yawned, grumbling something about Izanami finally letting her off training for once and sleep without dreams, and went into the bathroom, then shut the door gently.

"Don't you dare fall asleep in the bathtub, Sakura-chan." Naruto howled and went out of her room with a grin on his face as he heard her snarl from inside the bathroom.

One hour later on the training grounds Naruto, Sai and Sakura was gathered. Kakashi had said that morning he was to meet up with an old friend so he would miss the training session, not that Naruto really minded. Sakura called forth her summonings as she bit her thumb and reached the bloodied finger to her neck, closed her eyes and mumbled an incantation. A lightning sparked through the air with a large crackling sound and in a puff of smoke, four handsome men stood in front of Naruto.

"Good day, Sakura. Is it time for a training session?" A man with spiky white hair asked as he looked around.

"Yes." Sakura said shortly and wielded her katana. A black haired, tanned and scarred man got out a large sledge hammer from his hilt and went away a few yards and started practicing several moves. The red haired man who had a constant frown on his handsome features went to the sole tree and sat down as he closed his eyes in the shade of the tree.

"Hey! Which one of you is Seiryu?" Naruto yelled excitedly.

"That would be my name." The tallest man amongst the group of Celestial Beasts answered and stepped forward. He had long azure coloured hair and he emanated such powerful presence Naruto almost yelped.

"Can you transform into a dragon? Just once? Please." Naruto pleaded.

"No." The beautiful man said and turned around, walked a distance to a sand dune and sat down to meditate. Naruto was baffled, but couldn't really press the matter any further since he knew he'd see it one day. He'd just have to wait. The white haired man jumped up into the tree and settled on a branch, a straw in his mouth.

When Naruto took a water break from sparring with Sai, he watched as Sakura performed a few complex katas with her sword as she swiftly danced in the stark light of the sun in the desert. Grains of sand sprinkled away when she whirled around and pushed her feet into the ground.

"That move was exaggerated." Suzaku, the frowning red haired man, drawled from the shadows of the tree, his eyes burning amber when he gazed at her. Naruto looked over at the red haired beautiful man curiously as he clunked some water down.

"Huh?" Sakura turned around to glare at him, sweat making her pink hair plaster on her forehead.

"Your sword style is insufficient, human. It's _sloppy_." He added and rose from his meditative position on the little patch of dried grass under the single tree in the desert area.

"I-" Sakura started, but was cut off with a snort.

"Do you even have a sword style? It looks inelegant and only instinctive." Suzaku said as he leaned against the tree, looking down on her with frowning, arrogant eyes.

"I'm self-taught, Suzaku-sama. I'm sorry if it displeases you." She said through gritted teeth.

"Oh get over yourself, Suzaku." Byakko grumbled from up in the tree, where he rested on a tree branch with a straw in his mouth.

"Why don't you teach her your sword style? Whatever it was called, fire blooming or some other clichéd shit." Genbu ruffed and snorted loudly when he appeared to them, from having practiced with his sledge hammer a few yards away. Deep marks on the ground showed where he had used the force of it, similar to claw marks.

"Pff. My sword style is too complex for a mere human." Suzaku sniffed and wrinkled his nose.

"You need see past your preconceived ideas about your celestial status, Suzaku. She is our contractor now. The least you can do is to show her respect." Seiryu's cold and startling voice rumbled through the clearing when he appeared from behind the large frame of Genbu. The other heavenly animals almost flinched. The azure dragon was back from meditating on a sand dune and his presence was overwhelming.

"Yes, Seiryu, but still-" Suzaku started hesitantly, but the pinkette broke him off short sentence.

"It is all right. I know I need to practice on my sword style and stances. I will train harder, Suzaku-sama." Sakura said lowly as she looked down on the sandy ground. Suzaku gazed at her in silence, his yellow eyes piercing her.

"Hn. Maybe I can teach you the few basics. It will be difficult and it is probably impossible for you, but maybe we can get your sword style to be plausible at least."

"Ah. Thank you, Suzaku-sama. I will try my hardest." She nodded with her head, a faint smile spreading on her pink lips.

"Drop the suffix, Haruno. We are your equals now, as our contract states." Byakko said as he gnawed on the straw up in the tree. "No matter how much Suzaku will miss the suffix."

"Quit it, Byakko. If she respects me then it is by all means right to address me accordingly." Suzaku snapped. Byakko huffed and closed his eyes, instead deciding to ignore the vermillion bird. Naruto continued to watch as he felt the sweat on his forehead dry in the merciless sun. Sakura stood side by side with Suzaku and he positioned her hands right until he was pleased.

"Make a series of katas. The most basic you know." Suzaku drawled.

Sakura flowed on the sands, her movements fluent and not yanking, her steps were light on the mischievous sands and Naruto realised she pushed chakra to her feet to keep from sinking in. He cursed himself for not having thought about it earlier. When he got back to sparring with Sai he wouldn't fall in one of that jerk's sand traps. He had sand in places he didn't even know existed on his body. Sakura moved again and the katana reflected the sun and stung Naruto's eyes yet he didn't look away. When she was finished, she was sweating a bit. Suzaku frowned again and sighed as he went up to her panting form. The white top she wore clung to her salty skin and she wiped a hand across her forehead.

"Hm. It was acceptable basic moves. But, initially, you need to be in rhythm with Izanami."  
>"How?" Sakura huffed.<p>

"First of all, right now, you are only using her as a means of a weapon. A simple junk of metal. But she is alive and so much more than that and you need to dance with her, not by yourself. She is a fallen Goddess and you're not using her to the fullest potential. I think you two should have a talk about the Merge." Suzaku said.  
>"The what?"<br>"Oh, how clueless you are. Take a moment to talk with her about the Merge, she will understand. However, I myself don't comprehend why she hasn't talked with you about it yet." The vermillion bird said thoughtfully.

"Okay, sure. Just a moment, then." Sakura said, drew her sword again and closed her eyes.

* * *

><p><em>The Goddess of Death Izanami<em>

She had tired of sitting on her throne of skulls and diamonds in her imaginary Underworld. The large halls of the Darkness was sculpted with exquisite patterns on the walls, a few sculptures displaying winged creatures with horns and swords, the candle lights flickered in the stillness with a blue light. When she moved slightly on her seat of death, the sound echoed in the empty palace halls. The barbaric rituals of violence seethed quietly inside the marble walls. It had been soothing at first, being reminded of the powerful Goddess she was and her dark home in the veils of the earth, but it had gotten boring now. It had gotten boring for a long, long time now.

She huffed and stood up. In a flash, she changed the scenario in her mind, distorting the image of the Underworld. It was night in the human world. She stood in the middle of a field which stretched as far as her eyes could see and the grass was covered in old blood. Corpses had been left to rot on the grass and they had been eaten by scavenger animals. Some were dismembered, some were burnt. She looked up in her memory of the clear night sky. Stars covered every part of the universe and shone. The moon was thin and not full as of yet. Izanami settled down and let her white yukata fold over the wet grass as she lay down on her back. It had just rained. She felt the grass under her palms, it smelt of fresh leaves and metallic liquid and she stared into the never ending sky. Then she started counting the stars. It was soothing it its own way.

A painful memory flashed inside her and she grunted in pain. That sky lit night thousands of years ago he had held her in his arms, kissed her senseless and then he had told her that night that he would stop loving her when she had counted every star in the sky. And she was lost in his fire.

She stopped counting the stars and showed her teeth in a painful grimace.

Lies lies lies lies lies

It's all lies!

Why did he torment her so - still? After all these centuries and millennia, how come it still affected her so? Boiling hatred for the world seethed in her chest. Only blood could numb her pain, only screams of suffering could lessen her raw feelings, only carnage could make her into nothing. It was so dark, so dark, dark dark dark

"Izanami-sama?"

A voice tingled inside her imaginary world and she consciously thrashed away the abandoned sky lit battlefield, turning her consciousness into a murky atmosphere without time and space. The girl hesitantly bowed as she appeared and then looked at her with apple green eyes. Izanami floated above her.

"What is it?" Izanami asked irritably. "You know better than to disturb me while in my mindscape."

"I apologise for my sudden appearance. I just wanted to talk about the Merge."

"The Merge, you say?" Izanami said and pondered for a second. "Who told you about it?"

"Suzaku-dono did."

"I see. That little bird, if anyone, would know about it. It is a long forgotten technique."

"I do not know what it is. Suzaku-dono would not tell me." Sakura said lowly, hanging with her head. Ashamed of her ignorance.

"Of course you don't. Well, the Merge is basically our chakras fusing together while fighting. It would boost your energies and I would be one with you, even more so than now. We would share one mind. In that way, if we manage to achieve it, we would dance as one."

"I see. And that would aid us in battle?"

"Yes, very much so. But it is extremely difficult to Merge since every shinobi's chakras are different and flows in separate currents. And since I am a fallen Goddess, my powers might overrule yours. I would not mind taking over your body and destroy your mind, but we have a contract of blood and life. I will not break my promise to you."

"That... That is a relief. Then- Do you think it would be possible for us to achieve the Merge? Without you overruling me that is." She asked hesitantly.

"It is difficult to say." Izanami drawled as she observed her finger nails. They were dirty.

"I am willing to try." Sakura's voice echoed in the murky atmosphere and Izanami looked at the pinkette. Her voice had been made of determination, iron hard will, knocking away any doubt.

Izanami silently looked at the girl and suddenly, as if the girl broke, she caught Izanami's black eyes with her own and they were accusing her of the world put on her shoulders.

"I still have seven hundred and thirty one lives to extinguish. But who am I to kill these pitiful mounds of flesh and dreams? To claim these mournful desires?" She asked lowly and her eyes were pained, her voice being more of a whisper than anything.

"You are a means for me to sate my hunger, of course. To sate my need for cleaning these filthy soils of the world." Izanami clicked her tongue. Sakura only watched her.

"When did your hatred seep into your being?" She asked, eyes so pale green, so pale. "When did you learn the taste of blood was satisfying on your finger tips?"

"I have no obligation to you, girl, whatsoever to let you in on it." Izanami clipped.

"No. I believe I have a right to know. The blood is no longer on your hands only; it is smeared on mine own. The least little thing you can give me is the reason why." The pinkette craved of her.

"If you knew the reason why, it still would not change anything. Their deaths will always be on your consciousness." Izanami pointed out causally. The girl flinched.

"I am aware of it. Yet I still... I still need to know." She then said and stared at the fallen goddess of carnage. Izanami cocked her head to the side.

"Well, well. If you wish to know that much... I concede, then." Izanami replied and held her gaze with steely composure.

"Eternities ago I was in love with a man. We cherished each other to the point of sharing heart beats. We loved unconditionally, at the beginning of everything, of time and space. But when the day came for me to give birth to our child of fire, I died. I died in flames. And when I woke up in the Underworld, I thought all was lost. I no longer desired to move, to speak. I ate the fruits of the Underworld and I became one with the darkness. Then one day or night or just one moment, I didn't know, he was there. He declared he would bring me back and that everything would be as it were before. I was such a fool, falling for him time and time again, such a _fool_. He gave me that spiteful thing called hope. When we were about to leave he saw what I had become within the darkness, as he turned around when I had warned him not to. He saw my rotting flesh, he saw the maggots crawling on my once beautiful skin and he was disgusted. He saw me in the embrace of Death and his love for me did not reach so far as to accept me veiled in the darkness of the earth."

Izanami glanced away into the darkness of the murky atmosphere, her eyes blank, unseeing, and then she continued her tale of sorrow.

"He turned and ran away from me and I called for him, not wanting to understand his faded and frayed love for me, I ran and stumbled and I lost him. My lingering love vanished when I reached the entrance to Death, the gates between the living and the dead, and my love was replaced with mournful hatred for the man I once cherished with my own life. I could no longer reach him. But since my life was no more and I was but a shadow of who I once were, I became an abyss of murdering desire. I promised him to take thousands of lives and he promised to give the lives of more when he blocked the entrance to Death. After that I grew powerful as I fed off dead things beneath the earth and managed to surface in the lands of the living. We met on battlefields of humans after that, battle after battle I claimed so many lives. Each time, when one human joined the darkness under my hands, I felt that this time maybe he would look at me. Maybe he would see me. But he turned away, never taking note of me, and produced another life to be condemned into this world."

Silence pressed between the two women, one ancient and one still new to the world and its hardships. Izanami breathed lightly and she knew the red ruby on her forehead was glowing. The ruby which had once been a sapphire, that had changed because of her changed heart. The diamond that had been since coloured crimson by her hatred.

"He left you." Sakura said and let tears fall from her eyes, like clear jewelled droplets. Izanami almost flinched. The girl cried for _her_? For a _demon_? Izanami snorted.

"He did. And I will never stop ravaging the world." She concluded and looked down on the pink haired girl. Her green eyes shimmered with tears.

"The man you once loved... Was Izanagi." Sakura breathed and realised it was true.

"Yes." Izanami sighed her answer.

"What would you do if you met him today?" The girl dared to ask after a bit of contemplation and Izanami chuckled, more to herself than at the girl. A smirk played on her pouty lips.

"I would obliterate him. Destroy him completely, utterly. I would not allow for him to come to the Underworld, that would be far too merciful. He wouldn't simply die, he would _vanish _from existence all together." She laughed again. The girl only looked at her with eyes of sadness and Izanami silently cursed the girl. How would she know? How would she know that blood was the only thing that could soothe her pain? Numb her aching heart?

"No more of this. So now you know about my reason. We'll talk about the Merge later. Head back." Izanami snarled and the darkness pressed around them harder and the girl shrunk as she felt it come on to her. One last glance at the girl made Izanami stop when she floated away. The tears on her cheeks had dried and her eyes looked at the goddess with a different light. And then she was swallowed by the coiling charcoal black smoke.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

Long time no hear peepz! Thanks for sticking with me.

There seems to be a slight misconception about relationships among the reviewers. A relationship does not mean that the two depend on each other, and in this case it would not mean for Sakura to be 'taken care of'. A relationship is about trust in each other and not about control. If Sakura is to be in a relationship with anyone, she will still be free. Love has no boundaries, yes?

Now, to the poll!

No, Sakura doesn't need to fall in love -** 6 votes**

Sakura should fall in love with:

:::Neji::: **6 votes**

:::Sasuke::: **6 votes**

:::Shika::: **4 votes**

:::Kakashi::: **3 votes**

:::Ino::: **2 votes**

:::Itachi::: **2 votes**

:::Sai::: **1 vote**

Conclusion to this; I'm getting more and more confused lol. Maybe I'll just fuck it all up and make her all emotionless and make a harem of guys follow her around like lovestruck puppies. But at least I'm getting at what kind of direction you guys want this fic to take!

A warning for you all; I will add a darker touch in parts of the upcoming chapters. It will be necessary for the story's progression as well as Sakura's growth. I am sorry if you dislike the more morbid happenings, but I assure you the darkness won't have a recurring role in this fanfic. I tend to blend a bit of everything into my stories, so there will be light moments as well as dark ones, just like life. (Clichéd I know)

And once again, I thank every single one of you reviewers and readers. You can't even begin to comprehend how much you lift me up.

As always as well, please give some constructive criticism if seen needed. I always want to improve and if you feel like you're missing something in my chapters, please tell! I would really appreciate it.

I'm in a bit of a struggle with life now, and that's why it's taken a bit of time to get this chapter out here and it will take a bit of time for the next one as well. I'm actually writing most of the parts on my phone while I'm out smoking. Somehow, I feel more inspired on my balcony than on my kitchen table.

Love you guys,

fascalia

— — — UPDATE — — —

To one reviewer: This story is not Canon compliant, meaning that Sakura is by no means meant to end up with Sasuke only because Kishimoto made it so. I also believe their reunion and marriage and what not was too shallow and quite meek. I was very disappointed with it actually.

**THE POLL HAS NOW ENDED**  
>I have decided on the pairing now, thereby ending the poll. To me it seems to be too many contradicting opinions about Sakura's love life and therefore I have decided to be all dictatorial and decide myself. However, I have read all of your reviews and will take your wishes into consideration. I'm not revealing now on what I have decided, you'll just have to wait and see guys! ;)<p> 


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